Sermons – Grace Evangelical Free Church // Wyoming, MN

Colossians 1:1-2 –

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 2 To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

Since becoming the preaching pastor here in 2013, I’ve preached through the last 1/3 of the Gospel of Mark and all the way through 1 John, Titus, 1 Peter, Hosea, Ruth, Genesis, James, John’s Gospel, and Ecclesiastes.  

With each book, I’m a little embarrassed to say, I was genuinely caught off guard by the way God used it to work in our church.  I never doubted that God gives grace through the preaching of His Word or that careful exposition is usually the most faithful approach to preaching, but I continually underestimated the magnitude of what He would do among us and the consistency with which He would do so.  

What I also find interesting is that there were very few times in which He used individual sermons to bring about those changes (at least from what I could tell).  Rather, He seemed to do so through the cumulative effect of spending months (and sometimes years) in each book.  

For all those reasons, I’m truly excited for the chance to spend another significant chunk of time with you all in another book of the Bible.  And with that, welcome to Colossians and the expectation that God will continue to do great things in us, through this most remarkable letter on the preeminence of Jesus Christ!

The big idea of this sermon—which is the big idea of Colossians as a whole—is that the unlimited number of “Christ and” approaches to life are always eternally deadly, while the “Christ over all” approach is the only and certain path to eternal life.  The main takeaways are to do everything you can to take in all the messages on Colossians and to begin taking inventory of the “ands” in your life.  

Grace, I urge you not to make the same mistakes I’ve made over and over in allowing myself to be underwhelmed by Jesus (even for a moment) and in underestimating the sanctifying power of placing myself under God’s preached Word week after week after week.  I think you’ll find, as I’m about to pray, that God means Colossians to be an awesome remedy for both.   

Before I get into the background of Colossians, I want to say a few, brief words about the nature of the Bible by sharing a small portion of my experience with it.  And I mean to do so to help you see why understanding the background of Colossians is so important.  

When I first came to faith in Christ as a 19-year-old, I’d read a few out-of-context verses from the Bible and I’d heard many more read in different contexts, but I don’t think I’d ever read an entire chapter, much less an entire book.  I had a sense that the Bible was from God, but no concept of what that meant.  I’m sure I couldn’t have named 90% of the books of the Bible and I don’t know that I knew a single biblical author.  The main point that I’m trying to make is that for the first two decades of my life, I had no idea what the Bible was really, in no small measure because I didn’t really care what the Bible really was.  

I didn’t recognize any of that until I came to faith in Jesus.  Once I did, it all became quickly and painfully clear.  Through steady Bible reading on my part, the faithful teaching/preaching/discipleship of others, and the strong desire for understanding that the Spirit put in me, I’ve been growing to know and appreciate what the Bible is, what it teaches, and what that means ever since.  

All of that leads to one of the more important things I’ve learned about God’s Word over all the years; namely, that it consists of 66 separate books, all inspired by God and written by men with three critical aims: (1) Accomplishing some specific purpose among its first recipients, (2) Revealing more of God’s ultimate plan for the world, and (3) Equipping all of His people for all time with some of what we need to honor Him.  

The ultimate goal of Bible reading/study is the third aim (sufficient help to live as God intends), but the first two are essential means to that end.  We can’t know how a passage applies to us today if we don’t know it’s original intent or its place in the larger story.  And we can’t know the author’s original intent apart from a humble acknowledgement that every book of the Bible was written in a dramatically different context and culture from what we have today.  For instance, Colossians is a letter written nearly 2000 years ago, on another content, in another language, to a very different people, with a very different mindset, before cars, phones, electricity, and internet.  

Therefore, if we are to read Colossians (or any other book of the Bible) as we are meant to, we need to understand its background.  We’ll being with the author.  

Who wrote this letter and what do we know about him?  Helpfully, the author opens his letter by identifying himself, “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God.” So, who was Paul?  

Of himself he said (in Acts 22:3): “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in [Jerusalem], educated at the feet of Gamaliel [“a teacher of the law held in honor by all the people” (Acts 5:34)] according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day.

He was a well-educated, zealous Jewish leader and very proud of those things.  He elaborated on that idea in some of his other writings.  He referred to himself as (Philippians 3:5-6), “circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee… as to righteousness under the law, blameless.”  

In his Jewish zeal and blamelessness, he was adamant about silencing Jesus’ followers, believing them to be heretics.  To that end, he wrote of himself, (Philippians 3:6) “as to zeal, a persecutor of the church…”.   And (Acts 22:4), “I persecuted [Christians] to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women…”  

He continued in that until one day, on his way to persecute Christians in a town called Damascus, something entirely unexpected happened: the resurrected Jesus appeared to him. 

Describing this experience, Paul said, (Acts 22:6-8)…about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me. 7 And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ 8 And I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’ 

From there, Paul told of being led to Damascus and what happened next…

(Acts 22:13-16)“And one Ananias… 13  came to me, and standing by me said to me…14 … ‘The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see [Jesus] and to hear a voice from his mouth; 15 for you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’ 

Though originally an avowed enemy of Jesus and His followers, Paul was miraculously saved by Jesus.  More than that, he was (as we just read and as he says at the beginning of Colossians), commissioned by God as an apostle of Jesus to be a missionary to the Gentiles throughout the whole world.  

Of this, in another place he wrote (Galatians 1:15-16), “But …[God] set me apart before I was born, and …called me by his grace, [He] was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles…”.

From that point on, Paul faithfully gave himself to this mission, at an unimaginably great cost to himself.  In fact, as we’ll see in a bit, Paul wrote Colossians, while imprisoned for obeying God.  

Rather than being deterred from his mission by his persecution, Paul only grew in resolve.  Far from longing for a comfortable life, his greatest desire was that he might (Philippians 3) “10  … know [Jesus] and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible [he might] attain the resurrection from the dead.”  

Indeed, he did share in Christ’s sufferings as he shared in Christ’s mission.  He describes them as consisting of nearly non-stop (2 Corinthians 11:23-28) hard work, imprisonments, near-death beatings, lashings, stoning, shipwrecks, dangers, sleeplessness, hunger and thirst, harsh weather, and stress.

From the time of his miraculous conversion on the road to Damascus, the Apostle Paul gave his life to proclaiming the good news that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners (1 Timothy 1:15).  Doing so cost him nearly every earthly comfort.  Indeed, it is likely that Colossians was written when he was on house arrest in Rome; which would mean that he was near the end of his life.  

He went from being among the most educated, zealous, and powerful Jews, to writing lowly letters, to a lowly group of people, in a lowly town, from prison, near death.  Because of that, we might be tempted to feel sorry for Paul.  He would think us fools for doing so.  For, he rejoiced in his sufferings for the sake of the church (1:24) and was eager to fill “up what [was] lacking in Christ’s afflictions”.  His struggle was more than worth it since in Christ are “hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (2:3).  And, therefore, he counted “everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord,” acknowledging that it was for His “sake [that] I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I might gain Christ…” (Philippians 3:8).

Why take so much time considering the author’s background?  If we are to get out of Paul’s letter to the Colossians all that God has for us in this letter to the Colossians, it will mean keeping in mind both what Paul had been through also how he understood it.  

Reading Colossians well means having a grasp not only on its author, but also its recipients.  Who was this letter written to?  Again, helpfully, we find out right away (in v.2), “To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae.”  This letter was written by Paul to a small group of Christians in the small city of Colossae.  Let’s briefly consider the city and the people.

Who, then, were the recipients.  That is, who were the Colossian Christians?

As I mentioned above, at the time this letter was written, Colossae was a kind of melting pot of people and ideas.  Despite a nearly unending buffet line of options, Paul was exceedingly confident in the fact that the Colossian church was filled with “saints and faithful brothers in Christ.”   This too, I’ll say more in in a minute.

All of that brings us to the message of the letter.  Why did he write it?  What was it really about?

The message of the letter flows right out of the purpose for the letter.  The church, in the melting pot that was Colossae, was being presented with “plausible arguments” (2:4), worldly “philosophy and empty deceit” (2:8) regarding the nature of the gospel and the Christian life.  

Epaphras, having established the church in Colossae, was alarmed, uncertain, and underpowered.  In other words, he could tell that the things being taught to (and maybe by some in) the church were serious, but he was unsure of how to address them and, therefore, wanted the wisdom and authority of an apostle to settle the matter.  For those reasons, on behalf of the church, he traveled to visit Paul and seek his counsel.  

As a quick aside, how many times have you longed for such a thing?  How many times have you had a specific question (or set of questions) and wished you had an apostle, someone directly inspired by God to directly answer your questions?  I can’t even count the number of times I’ve longed for that.  Although appealing, God’s Word is plain that what we do have is entirely sufficient and genuinely (albeit mysteriously) better.  We have the completed Bible and an indwelling Spirit and those things are more than enough for all that God has for us.  

At the same time, it is good to be around people who can help you work through the meaning and implications of the Bible as you read it.  Come to Berea (that’s what it’s for), to DG (where you can ask questions and work together on application), and read your Bibles daily.

The occasion (the reason, the purpose, the heart) of this letter, then, is Paul’s answer to Epaphras’s question concerning the concerning teachings being spread throughout the church in Colossae.  

In one sense, the message of Colossians is found at the end of v.2: “Grace to you and peace from God our Father.”  In that way, the rest of the letter is largely an unpacking of the specific grace and source of peace they needed.  

In the remainder of this sermon, I’ll give a high-level overview of the four-part “grace and peace” message of Colossians: Paul’s God-given perspective on the status, problem, solution, and application for the Colossian church.  

The Christians in Colossae were being confronted with serious questions (which we’ll come to in the next part).  They were in the minority, isolated, and vulnerable.  They’d sent Epaphras to get the answers they needed, but what was their status in the meantime?  

Paul was unwavering in his answer.  In fact, it’s hard to imagine what more effuse praise would sound like.  May these things be said of Grace Church by all who worship with us.

“We always thank God…when we pray for you” (1:3) because of “your faith in Christ Jesus and … the love you have for all the saints” (1:4) and because “the gospel…[has been] bearing fruit and increasing…since the day you heard it (1:6).  Therefore, as he wrote his letter, Paul was “rejoicing to see [their] good order and the firmness of [their] faith in Christ” (2:5).

They were holy ones.  They were children of God.  Their earthly home was Colossae, but their true citizenship had been graciously transferred by God to the kingdom of His beloved Son (1:13).  Their faith was in Jesus (1:4).  They were a people who loved one another (1:4).  They had hope laid up for them in heaven (1:5).  They understood the grace of God in truth (1:6).  They were, in most every way, a church worthy of imitating.  

This may have been a humble group, but they were truly exemplary in their response to the gospel when it came to them and in their faithful lives since then.

What was their status?  Admirable faithfulness. 

Their admirable faithfulness did not mean that they were home free, however.  Their past and present trust in Jesus did not a guarantee future trust.  It is a mistake to believe that there were no temptations capable of derailing them.  

In that way, Grace, praise God for whatever past faithfulness He’s granted you, but remember that no one is saved by having believed in Jesus.  We are united to Him in salvation through believing in Him.  We must, therefore, continue to walk in Him (2:6).  We must see to it that no one takes us “captive by philosophy and empty deceit” (2:8).  And we must make sure that “no one disqualifies” us (2:18).  

Indeed, a temptation was being presented to the Colossian church that had Epaphras concerned enough to travel to Paul and Paul concerned enough to write them a letter and send it back at the cost of two of the few people he had to help him (Tychicus and Onesimus, for Epaphras had been put in prison with Paul).  That’s the primary occasion for this letter; something scholars have called “The Colossian Heresy.”  But what, exactly was this concern and who was teaching it?  

In preparation for preaching, I spent a good deal of time trying to follow along with the scholarly debates that have taken place over the years on that question.  Doing so was a bit amusing and a lot daunting.  The bottom line is that Paul never explicitly states the problem or its proponents.  He knows that his readers already know what and who he was talking about, so he only hints and them and spends most of his time on the solution.  In that way, what we know about the false doctrine and false teachers comes mostly from reading between the lines and playing Jeopardy (Paul gives the answer and we need to figure out the question).  

We’ll come to the answer in a minute.  First, though, let me highlight a few of the problem-hints Paul gives.

After expressing his gratitude for the faithfulness of the Colossians, declaring the preeminence of Jesus, and then describing the nature of his ministry, Paul began indirectly addressing the false teaching he wanted to help the Colossian believers avoid.  

In 2:4 he writes, “I say this [that Christ is the understanding and knowledge of God] in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments.”  Paul’s letter to the Colossians was written primarily to keep the church there from being deluded with plausible arguments.  He doesn’t really say what the arguments are, only that they’re present and deadly.

Likewise, in 2:8 we read, “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.”  Again, we’re not sure what philosophy, deceit, tradition, or spirits he has in mind, only that they are not in accord with the mind of Christ and are, therefore, of inestimable danger for the Colossians.

And again in 2:16 Paul warns, “Let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. 17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. 18 Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind…”.  It seems that a lot of things were being thrown at the Colossian Christians which were capable of turning their hearts aways from Jesus.  We get a bit more specificity here as to what they were (asceticism and angel worship, for instance), but it’s still not clear what the heart of the matter really is.

Paul’s letter to the Colossians was, once again, primarily intended to address some form of heresy.  But we’re still left with the question of what, exactly that heresy was.  What is the thread that binds together all the things we just read from chapter 2?  

The answer, I believe, was an ever-present temptation to various forms of syncretism.  The church was continually encouraged to add things to Jesus for salvation.  The “Colossian Heresy” was, what I call, a “Christ and” heresy.  

O, Grace, what a tragic and universal problem that is.  The specific forms it took for the Colossians are at least somewhat different than the forms it took during the Middle Ages and the time of the Reformation and even today.  But the form it takes is far less important than learning how destructive, evil, prevalent, and sneaky it is.  

The idea that we need to add anything to Jesus for salvation is from the pit of hell.  The idea that adding anything to Jesus is necessary for true satisfaction and complete joy is from the pit of hell.  The idea that we need to add anything to the mind of Christ to know how to experience the fullness of life He came to bring is from the pit of hell.

Paul knew all of this and was jealous and zealous to keep the Colossians, whom he loved, from falling to those hell-pits.  What, then, was Paul’s solution?  

If the problem was the temptation toward “Jesus and” theology, Paul’s solution was “Jesus only” theology.  And the reason for that is simple: Jesus is above all.  Jesus is the greatest treasure.  He is eternal life and satisfaction.  He is the fullness of the wisdom of God.  All of Him with nothing else is everything.  Everything else without Him is nothing.  He is over all!

Paul begins to unpack this idea in the middle of the first chapter.  In some of the most important and awesome words in all Scripture, Paul yells at the top of his lungs: “Christ is supreme!  He is above all!  He is preeminent in heaven and earth (1:15-23)!

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. 

“Jesus and” thinking, the “Colossian Heresy,” is hell-doctrine.  The solution Paul offers is the Kingdom doctrine of “Jesus above all!”  

Throughout the rest of the letter, we see that Christ is over all in that there is salvation in Him alone (2:13-15).  In that He was crucified, buried, raised, and victories over every power, so that we might be made alive and victorious with Him forever (2:13-15).  In that, in Him, our old self of darkness and death is put to death and our new self of light and life is born (3:9-10).  In that Jesus alone transfers us from the kingdom of the evil one to His kingdom (1:13-14).  And in that He comes into us and fills us with hope of glory and treasures forevermore (1:27-2:10).

Rightly understood and truly experienced, then, Paul offers the Colossians power sufficient to completely eliminate every temptation to add anything to Jesus: An explanation of who Jesus really is and what He has done.  

Grace, my greatest hope and my most fervent prayer is we will move even one or two or three steps further along in believing and experiencing the supremacy of Jesus Christ over all through our time in this book!  And with that, that we, together, working in the power of the Spirit, might root out every remaining ounce of “and” left in us.

Finally, then, what does it look like to live lives that reject “Christ and” thinking and wholly embrace “Christ over all” thinking?  Much of the latter half of the letter is dedicated to answering that question.  

Throughout our time in this letter, we’ll see that it means (2:6-7) walking in Jesus, “rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, …[and] abounding in thanksgiving.”  We’ll se that it means being (2:12) “buried with him in baptism, in which [we are] also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.”  We’ll see that it means “Putting off every remanent of our old “Christ and” selves, and putting on every yet-missing aspect of our new “Christ over all” selves (3:1-17).  We’ll see that it means doing everything in the name of Jesus (3:17).  We’ll see that it means ordering our households according to God’s design (3:18-4:1).  And we’ll see that it means continuing steadfastly in prayerful recognition that Jesus is our hope and glory (4:2).

The result of putting away “Christ and” thinking is “Christ in and over everything” thinking.  It is seeing the goodness and rightness of living every moment of every day, in every relationship, and in every place for Christ, according to His design, in His power, for His glory.  

Like the Colossians 2000 years ago, we are continually confronted with the temptation to add to Jesus or to treat Jesus as merely one of the many things in our lives.  This mindset is not only mistaken, it is eternally deadly.  The remedy is not to try harder, do more, or be better.  The only remedy is growing in the grace of God that allows us to see that Jesus really is over all, in every way, for all time.  It is seeing Jesus for who He really is; preeminent, supreme, and infinitely glorious.  Letting go of the “ands” in our life feels like a scary loss, but that is only because of the conspiracy of sin to make things seem as they are not.  Paul pleads with the Colossians and I plead with you all to recognize that letting go of our “ands” (whatever they may be) to fully embrace Jesus, is like letting go of a glass shard in your eye for a vacation at the sea.  It’s like letting go of a mountain of credit card debt for an unlimited bank account.  It is like letting go of cancer for perfect health.  May the Lord be pleased to use our time in Colossians to make this ever-clearer and to transform us ever-more in light of it.  Let’s go!

Exodus 5:1-23

1 Afterward Moses and Aaron went and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.’” 2 But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, I will not let Israel go.” 3 Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.” 4 But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people away from their work? Get back to your burdens.” 5 And Pharaoh said, “Behold, the people of the land are now many,[a] and you make them rest from their burdens!” 6 The same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their foremen, 7 “You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as in the past; let them go and gather straw for themselves. 8 But the number of bricks that they made in the past you shall impose on them, you shall by no means reduce it, for they are idle. Therefore they cry, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifice to our God.’ 9 Let heavier work be laid on the men that they may labor at it and pay no regard to lying words.”

10 So the taskmasters and the foremen of the people went out and said to the people, “Thus says Pharaoh, ‘I will not give you straw. 11 Go and get your straw yourselves wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced in the least.’” 12 So the people were scattered throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. 13 The taskmasters were urgent, saying, “Complete your work, your daily task each day, as when there was straw.” 14 And the foremen of the people of Israel, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and were asked, “Why have you not done all your task of making bricks today and yesterday, as in the past?”

15 Then the foremen of the people of Israel came and cried to Pharaoh, “Why do you treat your servants like this? 16 No straw is given to your servants, yet they say to us, ‘Make bricks!’ And behold, your servants are beaten; but the fault is in your own people.” 17 But he said, “You are idle, you are idle; that is why you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ 18 Go now and work. No straw will be given you, but you must still deliver the same number of bricks.” 19 The foremen of the people of Israel saw that they were in trouble when they said, “You shall by no means reduce your number of bricks, your daily task each day.” 20 They met Moses and Aaron, who were waiting for them, as they came out from Pharaoh; 21 and they said to them, “The Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.”

22 Then Moses turned to the Lord and said, “O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? 23 For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all.”

At the end of Exodus chapter four, we find Moses reunited with his brother Aaron, and his people Israel, in the land of Egypt. God had been preparing Moses and Israel for the coming clash of rivals—Yahweh, the self-existent God against the Serpent-King of Egypt, who, as we will see in this chapter, is exalting himself as a god. Moses had doubted Israel would believe he had brought a message from Yahweh. But God had promised Israel would believe him and receive his message, and they had. In chapter four, we saw that obedience changes the world. In chapter five, we see their faith will be tested as they encounter adversity at the hands of a rival to God.

What will Israel do in the face of adversity?  God had warned Moses that He would harden Pharaoh’s heart, and there would be a confrontation between God and Pharaoh. The clash of rivals plays out in chapter five as Pharaoh shows his unwillingness to surrender his authority to the “God of the Hebrews.” The great question in this chapter is what the people of God will do when facing hardship after initially believing God’s promise to deliver them from their burdens. Whom will they serve?

This chapter has four sections. Verses 1-9 are what I call ‘The Clash of the Gods’—the first of many confrontations between God and hard-hearted Pharaoh. Verses 10-14 are ‘The Wrath of Pharaoh’, where he lashes out against the Israelites caught up in the great struggle. Verses 15-21 raise the question, ‘Whom Will You Serve?’ Will you believe God and seek to serve Him, or will you forsake eternal rest for worldly comforts? The final two verses are ‘Moses’ Plea to God’.

In chapter four, verse twenty-three, God tells Moses his message to Pharaoh, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” That same word, “serve” from chapter four, is translated as “work” in chapter five. This sets up the rivalry between Yahweh and Pharaoh. The Hebrews have been serving Pharaoh in slavery, but God is now asserting His claim upon them and will have them serve Him instead.

The passage begins with Moses and Aaron bringing God’s message to Pharaoh. They had been warned that God would harden Pharaoh’s heart and should have known this first meeting would not go well. They stated God’s demand to Pharaoh straightforwardly. This is the first time the prophetic phrase “Thus says the Lord” appears in the Bible. The prophets will use this hundreds of times throughout Scripture. They tell Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.’” (v. 1) Moses and Aaron use this phrase, as the later prophets, to convey their message is not their own, but God’s voice, conveyed through his servants. This demand that Israel offer sacrifice to Yahweh helps us see what it means to serve, or work for Him. It means to worship.

No natural man likes to have the demand of a higher authority, especially of the Divine, placed upon them. The first response of all men, apart from the working of the Holy Spirit, is to question the authority or even existence of God, making a claim upon them.

The demand itself may have surprised you, especially if you’re already familiar with the story of the exodus. God’s demand is not that Pharaoh let Moses take the Hebrews out of Egypt forever—but only that they be able to “hold a feast…in the wilderness.” Pharaoh’s response helps us to see that this demand is much greater than it may seem.

Pharaoh, like every unbeliever, rejects the premise of the demand: “Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice?” His response is like the Pharaoh in chapter one, “who did not know Joseph.” (Ex. 1:8) The Pharaoh of chapter one enslaved the Hebrews, preferring not to remember the way Joseph had not only saved Egypt in the face of a seven-year famine, but had also been greatly enriched and his power expanded. This current Pharaoh refused to acknowledge the authority and significance of the LORD, who was making demands of him.

Pharaoh recognized that God was claiming not only authority over the Israelites, but over Pharaoh himself. If you are required to obey another, you are acknowledging the legitimate claim of authority they have over you. When we pay our taxes, we are acknowledging the legitimate authority of the United States government, the Minnesota state government, and our county governments. When Christians submit to water baptism, we signify that we are slaves of Jesus Christ—He is now our Lord, and he is putting His mark upon us. For Pharaoh to release the Israelites to hold a feast in the wilderness is to acknowledge two things. First, that Pharaoh is under the authority of Yahweh, and secondly, that Israel is God’s people and not his.

God is forcing Pharaoh’s hand and demands that he acknowledge the authority of Yahweh. But the hard-hearted Pharaoh, like the hard-hearted unbeliever, replies, “I do not know the LORD, and moreover, I will not let Israel go.” This is not going well. Moses and Aaron were told it would not go well, but it is easy to think that they were likely bitterly disappointed.

Moses and Aaron have a reply ready, and it is an interesting one. They say, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.” There are more details in this second appeal. First, they say that they have met with God. This is true. Moses met God in the burning bush at the Mountain of God. They then elaborate upon the demand to go into the wilderness to hold a feast for God. This isn’t simply a Thanksgiving picnic, but a sacrifice to the Lord. Sacrifices are made to those greater than you—to those who have a claim upon you. Again, to serve God means to worship Him. 

Moses and Aaron revealed to Pharaoh that he is not their Lord—Yahweh is. If Pharaoh consents to let them go to offer sacrifice to Yahweh, he is implicitly acknowledging they are God’s people, not his. The final clause is also very revealing. The Israelites are God’s people, and God’s people serve and worship God. But they have not been able to worship the LORD in Moses’ lifetime. If they do not serve and worship the LORD as commanded, they know the LORD will bring further judgment upon them. They fear the LORD will fall upon them “with pestilence or with the sword.” This is a well-grounded fear as both will come upon them throughout their desert wanderings.

In chapter four, Moses narrowly escaped death himself after failing to circumcise his son, as the covenant required him to do. In chapter three, he had met the LORD at the burning bush that was not consumed by the fire. He heard the voice of the Lord and experienced his anger after making excuse after excuse in order not to do what the LORD had commanded him. Moses is well acquainted with the holy anger of the LORD. He knows that the LORD’s wrath will be upon Israel if they do not worship him as they ought.

The issue is whether the Israelites are God’s people or Pharaoh’s. They belong to whom they serve. God is at last asserting his claim upon the Israelites, and Pharaoh is counterclaiming them for himself. Whom will Israel serve? Whose people will they be?

Moses and Aaron rightly fear the consequences for their people if they fail to serve and worship Yahweh.  But there is an implicit threat against Pharaoh if they are not permitted to sacrifice to the Lord. In Matthew 18, Jesus warns that “whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.” (Matt. 18:6) God will, in fact, “fall upon” Pharaoh and all of Egypt “with pestilence” and “the sword” when they fail to release the Israelites. Pharaoh will, in fact, be drowned in the depths of the Red Sea.

Pharaoh’s response makes it clear that he is causing Israel to sin by preventing them from offering sacrifice to God in the wilderness. Pharaoh’s response shows that his claim upon the Israelites is total. He asks Moses and Aaron, “Why do you take the people away from their work? Get back to your burdens.” (v.4) The LORD is seeking to give Israel rest from their burdens, but Pharaoh will not relinquish them. He is strengthening his claim on them and further burdening them.

Pharaoh is exerting the ungodly authority of deluded civil rulers—rulers who believe their own rule to be absolute and unrivaled. One commentator summarizes Pharaoh as “a picture of all totalitarian rulers, states, or individuals.” This is the perennial temptation of all in authority, whether it be rulers, pastors, parents, or managers. All such rulers are tyrants: ruling without the restraint of law or authority outside of themselves. Such men endorse the first half of Romans 13:1, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities.” But they don’t want anyone to hear the second half of the verse, “For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” Just a few verses later, in verse four, Paul calls rulers “God’s servant for… good.” No tyrant will ever acknowledge himself to be anyone’s servant—even God’s. Nor will he allow anyone outside of himself to define what is “good.”

There are many such tyrants in the Bible. The Pharaoh of chapters one and two was a tyrant when he enslaved the Hebrews and later demanded that all male babies be thrown into the Nile.

When Balak, king of Moab, hired Balaam to curse Israel as they camped in the plains of Moab (Numbers 22), he grew angry with Balaam for blessing Israel three times. He expected Balaam to obey him, and not the LORD, who prevented Balaam from cursing Israel. Balak was a tyrant, unwilling to acknowledge authority outside of himself. 

King Nebuchadnezzar, of Babylon, was a tyrant when he set up a golden image and required all his officials to “fall down and worship the golden image” at the “sound of” any instrument” and “every kind of music.” (Dan. 3:1,5) Disobedience was punished by being “cast into a burning fiery furnace.” (Dan. 3:6)

King Herod was a tyrant when the birth of the prophesied Messiah threatened his rule, “and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under.” (Matt. 2:16)

The sea and land beasts of Revelation 13 are also expressions of this same tyrannical impulse to rule without restraint and act lawlessly against those who will not honor Christ above earthly rulers. History is replete with such tyrannical rulers. 

Every government has systems in place to restrain the impulses of such rulers, or they are themselves manifestations of that tyrannical ruler acting without restraint. Our founders sought to create a system of checks and balances that would restrain each branch of government from exercising unlawful authority. But no system of law can truly restrain the corruption of rulers when they refuse to acknowledge authority outside of themselves. 

All who are in authority: elders, husbands, fathers, mothers, employers, managers, civil magistrates, must remember that we are under the authority of God. Our authority is derivative, not ultimate.

Tyrannies are established when the law of men is enshrined over the law of God. God is the lawgiver, and our rights are derived from Him, not man-made law.

When I first began studying this chapter, I was surprised by the parallels to COVID that jumped off the page. I missed them five years ago. In fact, I don’t recall this passage ever being raised when discussing government mandates to close churches and limit the size of corporate worship gatherings. I don’t want to dwell on this for long, but three observations from the text are in order, given that COVID is fresh in our memory.

First, corporate worship is much more important than we want to believe. God created man to worship Him. It is our highest purpose in life. To Moses and Aaron, it was a matter of life and death. They feared “pestilence” and “the sword” if they tarried in going to worship God. Are we properly prioritizing worship ourselves? This isn’t a question just for those who take church attendance casually, but for all of us. Why are you here? Are you truly serving the LORD this morning in worship? Are your heart, soul, and mind all engaged in worshipping the Lord? (Matt. 22:37) 

Second, the threat Moses and Aaron feared regarding “pestilence” or “the sword” (v. 3) applied equally to Pharaoh, the one who prevented their worship of the LORD. It is a fearful thing to have the wrath of God hanging over you. Pharaoh did not take this threat seriously and would pay dearly for it. The authority and responsibility to lead in worship belong to the elders of the church and no one else. No one, even civil rulers, should prevent God’s people from worshipping Him. Christians are God’s people and not the state’s or anyone else’s.

Third, God is gracious and patient when his saints are prevented from worshipping Him. Moses and Aaron feared God’s judgment, but it was long delayed. When it came, it came not upon Israel, but upon Pharaoh and the nation of Egypt, who bore the guilt of preventing God’s people from serving Him.

Hopefully, we will never face anything like those years again in our lifetimes. But the church must learn its lessons from history to prepare for future challenges. We need to remember the whole counsel of God is given to us and to consider all of it when formulating doctrine and practice, not just the passages that seem to deal most directly with a situation, as Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2 did with COVID.   Much more could be said of the COVID years, but not today. Let’s return to the text.

Pharaoh has exalted himself to the status of a god, ruling without restraint. Tyrannical rulers are a danger to the liberty and well-being of their citizens, church members, or family members, but the true threat we must see is the danger of rival authority. The danger lies in their demand for allegiance. Like the True God, they are jealous and will not allow dual allegiances. Like the True God, they demand, “You shall have no other gods before me.” (Ex. 20:3) Pharaoh will not make any allowances for the Israelites to worship Yahweh, because he believes he is their master and they are his servants.

Having dismissed Yahweh’s claims upon Israel and upon himself, he announces his judgment. Not only will he not allow Israel to go into the wilderness and sacrifice to God, but he is going to punish the people for asserting their allegiance to Yahweh. “The same day, Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their foremen, ‘You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as in the past; let them go and gather straw for themselves. But the number of bricks that they made in the past you shall impose on them, you shall by no means reduce it, for they are idle. Therefore they cry, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifice to our God.’” (v. 6-8)

The Israelites now find themselves having to meet the same output of work, but will now have to gather the straw for themselves, compounding the amount of work needed to make the same number of bricks. One commentator notes four things Pharaoh’s edict would accomplish: First, “…it was to discourage Moses and Aaron from challenging his authority as a divine master… Second, it was an effective means of alienating the people from these two leaders… Third, the Pharaoh would be able to reduce the costs of construction…” and “Fourth, the slave population would be scattered, thereby, reducing the potential military threat to Egypt.”

Notice the repetition of ‘burdens’ in verses four and five. This is the same word used in chapter 1, verse 11, when the Israelites were first enslaved “with heavy burdens” by the Egyptians. It was bad for them before, but Pharaoh is making it even worse!

In the second section, verses 10-14, “the taskmasters and the foremen of the people” bring the news of Pharaoh’s wrath upon the Israelites. It is easy to miss, but notice their first words, “Thus says Pharaoh.” (v.10) This is the exact phrase with which Moses and Aaron began their message to Pharaoh, in verse one, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel.” (v. 1) Pharaoh is as God to “the taskmasters and the foremen of the people.” (v. 10) This is a critical detail because it helps us to see what is at stake in this clash between God and Pharaoh. Another commentator summarizes the situation well when he writes, “YHWH, the God of the Israelites, and Pharaoh, the divine king of Egypt, are set in opposition to one another. Whereas at this stage the Israelites are under the authority of Pharaoh and must obey his every command, YHWH comes not merely to free them from such tyrannical control, but to offer himself as an alternative sovereign.”

Imagine reporting for a long day of slave labor, hearing your boss demand, “Go and get your straw yourselves wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced in the least.” (v.11) They’ve been accustomed to having straw brought to them to mix with clay to make bricks. But now they must produce the same number of bricks while gathering one of the process’s primary inputs! 

The demand would have seemed intolerable! The Israelites “were scattered throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw.” Have you ever worked with straw—perhaps for gardening? Each year, I put down a bale of straw on my strawberry bed. I set it down on the mulch next to the bed of strawberries and grab bunches of straw, spreading it over the whole bed, to give the strawberries a clean cushion of mulch. When I’m done, there is a remnant of small, broken pieces along with flakes of straw—this is the stubble. It is so little and difficult to gather that I just leave it there. Imagine having to carefully pick it all up and transport it to your clay pit? Imagine the frustration and tedium! 

Not only that, but the “foremen of the people of Israel” were beaten by their Egyptian taskmasters because they had fallen behind their brick production quota! What do you suppose they would resort to to motivate their Israelite work crews? 

The situation is desperate! What are the people to do? This leads us to the third section, from verse 15 to 21: “Whom Will You Serve?” The “foremen of the people of Israel” have been beaten for the lack of production from their brick-making Israelite slaves. They sought relief from Pharaoh—hoping their cries would elicit mercy. They blame Pharaoh’s “own people,” hoping that he will reduce their burden.  

Three times they refer to themselves as Pharaoh’s “servants” in verses 15 to 16. Here is the dilemma—whom will the people of Israel serve? Are they the LORD’s servants, or Pharaoh’s? Each is claiming the Israelites as his own, and the Israelite foremen seem to prefer Pharaoh, offering themselves to him three times. 

The Israelite foremen “cried to Pharaoh”. Earlier, in chapter 2:23, the people of Israel “cried out for help” … “and God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant.” But Pharaoh is a merciless god, as all false gods are. He tells them they are lazy and shifts the blame to Moses and Aaron. The contrast is stark. God has heard his people’s cry and promised salvation. Pharaoh has ignored their cry—yet the people are still serving him and appealing to him. Whose people are they? Whom will they serve?

Pharaoh’s plan is working. He has alienated the people from Moses and Aaron. The people are scattered and weak. There is a contagion of strife among the people. A commentator on Exodus reminds us, “God’s people must not assume that carrying out his commands will increase their own comfort.” Verse 19 states the situation very simply, “The foremen of the people of Israel saw they were in trouble.”

The foremen realize they are in trouble but cannot see the situation clearly. In verse 22, they call upon the LORD to judge Moses and Aaron, blaming them for their current situation. They believe God is on their side, but they don’t sense that have already declared themselves to be on Pharaoh’s side. They cannot have it both ways! They are self-deceived—not only in trouble, but on the wrong side of God himself!

The chapter ends with Moses’s plea to the LORD. He “turned to the LORD and said, ‘O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all.”

Moses seems to believe his mission has failed. He came to Egypt and delivered God’s message to Israel and to Pharaoh. But it has only brought calamity upon the people. There has been no deliverance at all. One commentator states the situation well. He writes, “God’s timing only sometimes coincides with our expectations, and his idea of the hardships we need to go through only sometimes coincides with our idea of how much we can take.”

We have all probably felt that way, haven’t we? We pray and wait. We groan and labor in prayer. And we see nothing happening. God seems silent and far off. We think we cannot wait any longer. It is hard to remember what is true in such times. It is difficult to remember “that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Rom. 8:28) Those words seem so trite. We want to believe that is true, but when you’re suffering or watching others suffer, it doesn’t seem to be enough.

In Moses’s frustration, he does turn to the LORD. This is the opposite of what we see the “foremen of the people of Israel” do in verse 15. They cry out to Pharaoh and call themselves his servants three times. But Moses turns to the LORD. He turns to the LORD in prayer. He prays with frustration, yes. But he prays with expectation. He knows the LORD will hear him, and he believes he will act. His prayer is a prayer of faith.

If you look ahead to chapter six, you’ll notice that the LORD does not rebuke Moses in any way. Instead, he reminds Moses of his covenant promises. We’ll save that for next time. What I want us all to feel in this moment is the story’s tension. Whom will Israel serve? I want to make it clear that neither I nor the text condemns the people for working as slaves to Pharaoh. We have no reason to believe they should have gone on a strike and refused to work for Pharaoh. That isn’t the message of the text. The focus of the text is on who the people are turning to, who they are worshipping—whose people are they? The answer seems to be that they are willing to serve whoever lightens their workload. They were willing to hear Moses’s promise of liberation from slavery. But when he fails to give it, they turn back to Pharaoh to lighten their burdens. It is Moses who stands alone, who turns to the LORD.

As Pastor Colin likes to ask, “So what?” What does the Israelite’s plight have to do with us? At the end of chapter four, when Moses and Aaron brought God’s message to the people, they believed and “bowed their heads and worshiped. Now that Pharaoh has rejected their plea and increased their labors, they have turned away from Moses and the LORD.

In the face of adversity in Egypt, Moses remained faithful to the LORD. He remembered what God had promised him and turned in expectation for the LORD to fulfill His word. The foremen of the people of Israel are the opposite. They are following the one who will make their lives easier—the one who will lighten their burden. As Pastor Dave would say, they are “unbelieving believers.” Their belief is an easy belief. It is a belief that cannot endure hardship. Moses brought good news of salvation, yet when he failed to deliver it at first, they turned back to Pharaoh, turning their backs on Moses and Aaron.

In Luke 14, Jesus tells his followers, “Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?” (Luke 14:27-28) He is warning his followers that it will cost much to follow him. He tells them, “any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:33) Christ demands our all, and to follow Him, we must be willing to count the cost and be ready to pay it.

Pharaoh was not willing to surrender his authority over his Hebrew slaves. The kingdom of darkness is not willing to surrender its authority over its slaves to sin either.  Pharaoh was a symbolic head of the kingdom of sin and darkness. The true enemy is the satanic kingdom of darkness ruling over its slaves, whose oppressive burdens weigh them down. They need a Savior to liberate them from their enslavement to sin. 

The New Testament writers repeatedly remind their readers that they have been freed from the power of sin and darkness and are to walk in the light of Christ.

“So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.” (Rom. 13:12)

“…what fellowship has light with darkness?” (2 Cor. 6:14)

“…for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.” (Eph. 5:8)

“For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness.” (1. Thess. 5:5)

“God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” (1 John 1:5-6)

“…the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.” (1 John 2:8)

There are more. But what I want to help you see this morning is that there are only two sides in our spiritual battle. There is the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the words of Jesus, from Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.” It is either Christ or the darkness. Whom will you serve? 

Jesus is the true Moses, freeing slaves of sin, unburdening his people, and giving them true freedom—making them citizens of a new, heavenly kingdom. We are new creatures, walking in the light and having no part in the works of darkness. 

The kingdom of darkness has set up many rivals to play upon our fears, worries, and weaknesses, seeking to regain our allegiance. There are false ideologies, false religions, false heroes, false saviors, false creeds, and false gods. We must sharpen our “powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” (Heb. 5:14)

One of the things we need most is to be reminded of what Jesus has done, who we are in Christ, and what Christ has promised for our future. We live on the other side of the cross. Jesus has already defeated the kingdom of darkness. Believer, salvation is yours. You have already been declared righteous. Light has dawned upon the world, and each day brings us closer to the fullness of Christ’s victory.

I ask you: when adversity comes, whom will you serve? When your marriage is struggling, what will you do? Will you follow worldly ways, looking for worldly relief? Or will you turn to the LORD, ready to acknowledge your share of the sin, ready to repent, and ready to forgive? When you have trouble with your kids, will you labor for their eternal good, or will you settle for temporary peace—risking their souls? When the lusts and desires of this world tempt you, will you surrender to them and satisfy them? Or will make no provision for the flesh, living out the freedom you have in Christ? When a rival god demands your allegiance, will you recite their creed, or will you confess Christ? Will you serve rival gods for worldly comforts, or will you turn to the LORD? Whom will you serve?

Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:12 “…we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Pharaoh is a type of this ruler and authority. But as Paul also writes in Colossians 2:15, God “disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them” in Jesus.

We find ourselves in a much better position than the Israelites in Exodus 5, who must live by faith, believing that God will deliver them from Pharaoh. But we live by faith, believing God has already delivered us from the kingdom of darkness. We must daily remind ourselves of that victory and “take up the whole armor of God” that we “may be able to withstand in the evil day…and to stand firm.” (Eph. 6:13)

We must anticipate hardship, for it will surely come. We must entrain ourselves to remember what Jesus has done, who we are in Christ, and what He has promised for the future. Let us be like Moses, who turned to the LORD and sought Him in our hardships. So, in the words of Psalm 100, may we: 

“Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the LORD, he is God!  It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.”

Psalm 40

1 I waited patiently for the Lord;

          he inclined to me and heard my cry.
2  He drew me up from the pit of destruction,

          out of the miry bog,

and set my feet upon a rock,

          making my steps secure.
3  He put a new song in my mouth,

          a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,

          and put their trust in the Lord.
4  Blessed is the man who makes

          the Lord his trust,

who does not turn to the proud,

          to those who go astray after a lie!
5  You have multiplied, O Lord my God,

          your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;

          none can compare with you!

I will proclaim and tell of them,

          yet they are more than can be told.
6  In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted,

          but you have given me an open ear.[a]

Burnt offering and sin offering

          you have not required.
7  Then I said, “Behold, I have come;

          in the scroll of the book it is written of me:
8  I delight to do your will, O my God;

          your law is within my heart.”
9  I have told the glad news of deliverance[b]

          in the great congregation;

behold, I have not restrained my lips,

          as you know, O Lord.
10  I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart;

          I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;

I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness

          from the great congregation.
11  As for you, O Lord, you will not restrain

          your mercy from me;

your steadfast love and your faithfulness will

          ever preserve me!
12  For evils have encompassed me

          beyond number;

my iniquities have overtaken me,

          and I cannot see;

they are more than the hairs of my head;

          my heart fails me.
13  Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me!

          O Lord, make haste to help me!
14  Let those be put to shame and disappointed altogether

          who seek to snatch away my life;

let those be turned back and brought to dishonor

          who delight in my hurt!
15  Let those be appalled because of their shame

          who say to me, “Aha, Aha!”
16  But may all who seek you

          rejoice and be glad in you;

may those who love your salvation

          say continually, “Great is the Lord!”
17  As for me, I am poor and needy,

          but the Lord takes thought for me.

You are my help and my deliverer;

          do not delay, O my God!

Good morning. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Today, we rejoice that Jesus has come and accomplished salvation for those who believe. We have walked through the many songs of people who have been impacted by God through Jesus Christ. When we speak of songs, friends, let me remind you that these were probably not sung, but were spoken as poet expressions of joy and worship – therefore, we call them songs.

For Elizabeth – God did the impossible in her life, gift of a child, who would prepare the way for the Lord. She rejoiced that Jesus would come near – her own child leaping in her womb. Elizabeth had joy – not only in her pregnancy, but that God would be coming, the Messiah, and from that work of God, Elizabeth worshipped.

For Mary – she responded as a servant of God, trusting in His plan. Mary saw God’s grace in her life to be used by God to bring about His plans – though her life would be different than her plan – God’s plan would bring about redemption and His righteous arm would save. We see from her song a God that is faithful, that the Holy Spirit is at work, and that this season is an invitation to worship and anticipation of His second coming.

For Zechariah – we were reminded that in silence, God still works. He was preparing for the coming of His Son during the 400 years between Malachi and Matthew. God broke His silence to bring silence to Zechariah, and in that silence, God was preparing for the reality of Christmas – God with us. In the same way, when we feel like God is silent, He is preparing us for the reality of this season – He is with us, He is speaking through His word by His Spirit and for His glory. Worship Him with your words as Zechariah did with his first words after 9 months of silence. 

Though we didn’t cover this text, there was a song for the Shepherds (Luke 2:8-19) – we are reminded that Jesus came to bring peace – between God and man and through all mankind to those who trust in God. He came to announce this great news of joy for all people to the lowliest of all people – shepherds. It reminds us that God’s grace reaches to all those who are humble to receive Christ, where God’s favor rests.

For Simeon – he was given a promise that he would see the Messiah. He faithfully served God through his whole life because he believed in the promises of God. While he waited, he served and worshipped God. In this, Simeon was able to say he could go in peace in seeing the promise fulfilled. May we wait like Simeon, serve like Simeon, and worship like Simeon, for we have peace in our souls that God’s promises are yes and amen in Jesus.

All of these songs were shadows of a greater song, an incomplete understanding of the work of God, yet faithful expressions of things revealed, even while the secret things belong to God. The mystery was about to be revealed to the nations. This morning we look back, before Jesus and then will look into the future when all of God’s people are together with Jesus.

In Psalm 40 we find David recalling a time in his life when he needed to be rescued. He describes being stuck in a muddy pit. The pit is so high that he can’t reach the top and on his own he will never escape. But the Psalm is written in hindsight. David has cried out to God and God had saved Him and Psalm 40 describes David’s response to this incredible deliverance. Spiritually we should be able to identify with David’s situation. The Scriptures teach that we are all born in a hopeless situation, cursed by sin. But, for those who trust in God through Christ salvation is available. As we go to Psalm 40, we see how David responds to his deliverance and in many ways, it should inform the way we respond to our own salvation.

This is the heart of Christmas – not a baby born in a manger, but God’s only Son, the King of kings born to bring redemption, adoption, and joy-filled eternal security to fallen mankind. This gift of Jesus is offered throughout the year, as we marvel at God’s work in Christmas.

The Main Point is that God’s salvation rescues helpless sinners and produces a transformed life marked by praise, obedience, proclamation, and continued dependence on Him. The main takeaway, therefore, is that since God has lifted us out of the deepest pit through Christ, we should respond with joyful worship, wholehearted obedience, bold witness, and confident trust in Him as our ongoing Deliverer.

Let’ walk through David’s Psalm and I pray that it impacts our own response to salvation – whether you have it already and need to rejoice in your salvation through Christ or you receive it today for the first time and your hearts worships Christ purely today.

Psalm 40:1-5 “I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. 2 He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. 3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord. 4 Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust,
who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie! 5 You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told.”

David opens this psalm with a vivid picture of desperation: “a pit of destruction… the miry bog.” It is a place too deep for him to climb out of, and the more he struggles, the deeper he sinks. This is the language of helplessness—the place where our own strength and cleverness are exhausted. But notice David’s posture: he does not curse God, he does not grow cynical, he does not resign himself to despair. Instead, David waits patiently—not with passive resignation, but with active hope. He cries out to the Lord, and in God’s perfect timing, the Lord bends down, hears him, and acts. God draws him up from the pit and places his feet on solid ground. The God who saves does not merely remove us from danger—He gives stability, direction, and renewed strength.

God’s rescue does not lead David to silence; it leads him to worship. As he reflects on God’s salvation, his heart fills to overflowing. God puts a new song in his mouth (v. 3a)—a fresh expression of praise that rises out of lived experience with the living God. And David knows that his testimony will shape others: many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord (v. 3b). Praise becomes evangelism. As we speak about the God who saves, redeems, strengthens, we supernaturally want to tell others when we know that they are in that same pit we were in. David then widens the lens and considers not just this one act of deliverance, but the countless ways God has shown Himself faithful. The works and thoughts of God toward His people are so abundant, so layered with mercy and wisdom, that David says they cannot be numbered (v. 5). Words fail before the sheer magnitude of God’s saving grace. David’s praise is not a momentary emotional response—it is the only fitting reply to the God who repeatedly rescues, remembers, and redeems.

Psalm 40:6-8 “In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required. 7 Then I said, “Behold, I have come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me: 8 I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.” 

Praise with our lips is the right and necessary first response to God’s salvation—but it is not the only response. In these verses David shows that true gratitude naturally flows into obedience. He understands that God is not after momentary enthusiasm; He is after a transformed life. So David commits himself not only to sing about God’s goodness but to live in a way that reflects it. His praise moves from his lips into his actions. This inspires James – be hearers and doers of the word!

More Than Religious Conformity – David writes as a man who is living under the Law and the sacrificial system. There were sacrifices to offer, rituals to keep, feasts to observe—a whole structure of outward religious practices. And while these were ordained by God, they were never meant to replace the heart. David acknowledges how easy it is to fall into a pattern of simply checking the religious boxes, doing the right things in the right order while drifting far from God internally. But the Lord desires more than compliance; He wants devotion. “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire…” means God does not delight in empty religious performance. He desires a life fully yielded to Him—obedience rooted in love, reverence, and trust. Obedience is light as we understand that it comes because God has loved us first, redeemed us so that we would be obedient out of joyful duty and not stoic religiosity. 

“Written in the Scroll” – In verse 7 David speaks of what is “written in the scroll,” a reference to the covenantal responsibilities laid upon the king –  Deut. 17:18-20 “18And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests. 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them, 20 that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel.”

      Every king of Israel was to copy the Law by hand and rule in faithful submission to it. David acknowledges that calling—but he goes beyond duty into delight. He does not obey begrudgingly. He says, “I delight to do Your will.” The Law of God is not a burden but a joy because it expresses the heart of the God who saved him. David’s obedience is not mechanical, not merely positional—it’s relational. This is one of the reasons David was a man after God’s own heart. David’s life springs from a heart captured by grace and eager to please the One who rescued him from the pit. Are you?

Psalm 40:9-11 “I have told the glad news of deliverancein the great congregation; behold, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O Lord. 10 I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart; I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation. 11 As for you, O Lord, you will not restrain your mercy from me; your steadfast love and your faithfulness will ever preserve me!”

As David reflects on God’s rescue, silence is not an option. The experience of being lifted from the pit compels him to open his mouth. In these verses David becomes almost urgent, insistent—his language is intentionally repetitive. Over and over he says, “I have proclaimed… I have not restrained my lips… I have not hidden… I have spoken… I have not concealed.” The point is clear: those who have been delivered cannot keep quiet about the Deliverer.

David’s rescue becomes a testimony, and his testimony becomes ministry. He tells of God’s righteousness—how God does what is right and just; of God’s faithfulness—how God keeps His promises; of God’s salvation—how God moves toward the helpless with power and mercy; and of God’s steadfast love and truth—how God’s character is enough to sustain His people in every circumstance. David is not promoting himself; he is pointing to the God who saves.

And David’s proclamation is not simply for his own benefit. The deliverance he experienced is not unique to him; it is available to all who see their need and cry out to the Lord. God’s rescue is not limited, and His mercy is not scarce. If God has lifted you out of your own pit—whether of sin, despair, fear, or rebellion—who in your life needs to hear that the same salvation is offered to them? Who around you needs to be told that they need a Savior, and that this Savior stands with open arms, ready to receive all who come to Him?

David models a heart that has been rescued and therefore cannot remain quiet. Praise becomes posture, and posture becomes proclamation. The God who saves deserves to be known, and those who have been delivered become His messengers.

Psalm 40:12-17 “For evils have encompassed me beyond number; my iniquities have overtaken me, and I cannot see; they are more than the hairs of my head; my heart fails me. 13 Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me! O Lord, make haste to help me! 14 Let those be put to shame and disappointed altogether who seek to snatch away my life; let those be turned back and brought to dishonor who delight in my hurt! 15 Let those be appalled because of their shame who say to me, “Aha, Aha!” 16 But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation say continually, “Great is the Lord!” 17 As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God!”

In verse 12 the tone of the psalm shifts noticeably. The confident praise of the first half gives way to the honest cries of a man who is again in distress. Some scholars have suggested that Psalm 40 was originally two separate psalms stitched together. But the flow of David’s experience actually argues the opposite. Life with God is rarely neat and linear; it is a cycle of rescue, praise, obedience, proclamation—and then, inevitably, new challenges that drive us back to God again. Psalm 40 reads like real life. It is the rhythm of a believer who knows what it means to be delivered and who also knows what it means to be desperate.

This final section is a prayer for fresh deliverance. David acknowledges his trouble with striking honesty—his sins are many, his enemies are real, and his heart fails within him (v. 12). Yet he does not spiral into despair. Why? Because he remembers. David calls to mind the God who has already drawn him up out of the pit. The God who set his feet on solid ground once is the God who can do it again. Past grace fuels present faith. David prays with confidence precisely because he has tasted the faithfulness of God in the past. “Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me; O LORD, make haste to help me” (v. 13). This is not wishful thinking—it is trust rooted in experience. David ends the Psalm where every believer must end: not with self-reliance, but with God-dependence. “I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinks upon me” (v. 17). The God who rescued him before is the God who sees him now.

And for us, the confidence is even greater. We have been rescued from the deepest and darkest pit imaginable—the pit of sin, death, and the righteous judgment of God. Through Christ, God has lifted us out of a destruction we could never escape on our own. If God has delivered us from that pit, from eternal separation and condemnation, then what could possibly defeat us now? What threat in your present life is stronger than the salvation accomplished at the cross? What fear can overpower the grace that has already secured your eternity? Nothing. Nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Therefore we trust Him. We keep crying out to Him. And we encourage others to run to Him as well. The God who rescued David is the God who rescues us—and the God who will continue to rescue all who call on His name.

Just as David says that a new song was put into his mouth by God – so this is true of us. As we are saved, we rejoice and shout praise to God. This worship turns into action as we long for others to sing this song with us – the song of redemption!

Someday, a new song will be sung in the presence of Jesus Himself. In Revelation 5, we get a glimpse into eternity.

“5 Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. 2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” 3 And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, 4 and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. 5 And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

6 And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7 And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. 8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying, 

“Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, 10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” 11 Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice,

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and blessing!”

13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, 

“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”

14 And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.”

Here, we get the picture of our future. When all of God’s people are together, rejoicing in the reality that Jesus is our salvation and He is worthy. Through all the trials, joys, mystery, tears, laughter, and preserving – the LORD God Himself will bring His people around the throne of the Lamb in worship. This eternal, new song of rejoicing and worship that brings God the highest glory.

I can’t help but think of a quote from Richard Baxter in his book “A Saint’s Everlasting Rest” as he discusses the saint’s journey through this life – the wilderness – into the Promised Land – eternal glory. He writes:

“From heaven’s height the soul surveys the Promised Land. Looking back on earth, the soul views the dreary wilderness through which it passed. To stand on Mount Memory, comparing heaven with earth, fills the soul with unimaginable gratitude, and makes it exclaim: “Is this the inheritance that cost so much as the blood of Christ? No wonder! O blessed price! Is this the result of believing? Have the gales of grace blown me into such a harbor? Is this where Christ was so eager to bring me? O praise the Lord! Is this the glory of which the Scriptures spoke, and of which ministers preached so much? I see the Gospel is indeed good news! “Are all my troubles, Satan’s temptations, the world’s scorns and jeers, come to this? O vile nature, that resisted so much, and so long, such a blessing! Unworthy soul, is this the place you came to so unwillingly? Was duty tiresome? Was the world too good to lose? Could you not leave all, deny all, and suffer anything for this? Were you loathe to die to come to this? O false heart, you had almost betrayed me to eternal flames and lost me this glory! Are you not ashamed now, my soul, that you ever questioned that Love which brought you here? Are you not sorry that you ever quenched His Spirit’s prompting or misinterpreted His providence, or complained about the narrow road that brought you to such a destination? “Now you are sufficiently convinced that your blessed Redeemer was saving you, as well when he crossed your desires, as when he granted them; when he broke your heart, as when he bound it up. No thanks to you, unworthy self, for this crown; but to God be the glory forever!” To which we say, Amen.

William Booth’s Vision of the Lost:

William Booth once described a powerful vision in which he saw a vast, storm-tossed sea filled with people drowning—crying out, struggling, and slipping beneath the waves. In the midst of the chaos stood a great rock with a platform on it where many rescued people had gathered. Some were passionately reaching back into the water to pull others to safety, while others, though saved themselves, had grown distracted with comfort, work, or religion, forgetting the desperate cries coming from the deep. Booth’s vision confronts us with the sobering reality of a world perishing without Christ and calls us, who stand on the solid rock of salvation, to urgently and compassionately extend our hands to those still in the waters of sin and hopelessness. 

If we truly understand what our situation was and the length that God went to in order to save us, we shouldn’t be able to keep it to ourselves. If we are content to be silent it may be that we haven’t truly understood or experienced the salvation of God. If we believe that He can rescue, why would we want to keep that from those in need of rescue?

As people who have been delivered, we should have confidence in God’s ability to save. As we face new trials in life we should confidently cry out, knowing He can save. This should impact our life in the sharing of this good news of great joy that is for all people. This is what Christmas was and is about and though Christmas is over, we await the Greater Christmas when we sing praises to the Lamb, the King of kings, our Friend and Savior Jesus Christ. Soon and very soon.

Luke 2:22-38

22 And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” 25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, 28 he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,

29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
    according to your word;
30 for my eyes have seen your salvation
31     that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
    and for glory to your people Israel.”

33 And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed 35 (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

36 And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, 37 and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. 38 And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.

In the 1960s, psychologist Walter Mischel conducted a famous experiment that has come to be known as “The Marshmallow Test.” Groups of 4-years olds were given a marshmallow and told that if they waited 20 minutes before eating it, they would receive another. If they ate it, they would not get any more marshmallows.

Some kids could wait and others could not. The researchers then followed the progress of each child into adolescence and demonstrated that those with the ability to wait were better adjusted and more dependable (as determined by surveys of their parents and teachers), and scored an average of 210 points higher on the SATs. I imagine if this were to be given today, the child would pull their phone out of their pocket and order a bag of marshmallows through UberEats (but that’s a different discussion). 

How would you have done on the marshmallow test? Are you willing to wait or do you want your marshmallow right now? I’m pretty sure I would have been sent home for not only eating my marshmallow, but taking the other kids’ marshmallows as well. I’m not really good at waiting for anything (getting better). It seems as the Christmas season approaches, I have a heightened sense of the chaos and thus I must labor for patience. All my years in retail and restaurants have helped me a little. When I have to stand in line at the busy store I feel the craziness of the world and that makes this season difficult at times. Waiting can be very stressful for me—even waiting for Christmas. How are you at waiting for Christmas? Or for peace? For joy? For quiet? I think this helps us think about our song today and the man who proclaimed it.

Simeon is a relatively obscure character in the Christmas story. The Bible says that Simeon was a righteous and devout man. He has some things to teach us about waiting, as he had been waiting for something important for a long, long time. Although he was very old, he hung in there for one reason: he believed the word that God had told him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ—the Messiah of Israel! It was a dark time in Israel. There had been no new revelation from God through his prophets in over 400 years. Not exactly the context for optimism, apart from the Holy Spirit. But although Simeon’s body was failing, his faith grew stronger, because the hope that was in him was greater than the hopelessness around him. Day after day, month after month, year after year, Simeon watched and waited. He must have known the prophecies—known what to look for OR he simply trusted the word that came from God, trusted God. I imagine he would go to the temple whenever couples brought their sons to be dedicated, and he would pray: “Is it this one, Lord? Is it that one?” He was waiting for Christmas every day, for years. In a sense – he experienced winter without Christmas for a long time.

The main takeaway is that this passage teaches us that faithful, obedient waiting is not wasted time but holy ground. God forms His people and fulfills His promises in the long, quiet spaces of patience. At Christmas we remember that God always keeps His word in His time, and the arrival of Jesus is the proof that our waiting in hope is never in vain. The main takeaway therefore is to become a people who wait well, anchored in God’s promises, obedient to His Word, and attentive to His Spirit, so that our worship, witness, and hope shine brightly in a hurried and impatient world.

Before we are introduced to Simeon, we learn that Mary and Joseph bring Jesus into the temple in accordance with the Law. Remember, Mary and Joseph are Jewish and are faithful in obedience to the Law.

Since Luke is writing primarily to a Gentile audience, you will notice in verses 22-24 that he includes some clarifying details to explain what is happening and why. Luke brings in Leviticus 12 which is the Law of God that Mary and Joseph are obeying in this moment. In our churches today we may associate this presentation with the dedication of children. This may be the closest thing we can relate to concerning this event, but what is happening in this text is more involved than our traditional baby dedication here at Grace Church.

Here is a quick synopsis of Leviticus 12. The Law stated that parents were to present their child to the Lord. This presentation was to be after the mother’s purification, which would be seven days after birth. On the eight day the child would be circumcised and named. Luke tells us this in verse 21. According to the Law, following the eighth day she was to continue for thirty-three more days before she could enter the Temple or anything holy. The parents were to bring a lamb or two turtle doves or two young pigeons if they cannot afford a lamb. One sacrifice was a burnt offering and the other sacrifice was a sin offering that the priest would make in atonement for the mother. This presentation in the temple is forty-one days following the birth of Jesus.

Why is this significant? The Apostle Paul said this to the Galatians about Jesus’ birth: “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, to redeem those who were under the Law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4-5, ESV). Paul tells us specifically that Jesus was born under the Law, meaning that his life on earth was bound to the details of the Law. For example, every year Jesus and his disciples would celebrate Passover in Jerusalem as prescribed by the Law. But also, Jesus will redeem those under the Law by ratifying the New Covenant through his blood, so we can be adopted as sons. Mary and Joseph are simply obeying the Law in this moment.

Interesting the note that Luke gives us: Think back to the Law.A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons: Leviticus 12 commands that at the birth of a son a lamb be offered as part of the purification and dedication ceremony. Yet it allowed for two birds to be offered if the family could not afford to present a lamb. The offering of the two pigeons instead of the lamb and the pigeon was technically called The Offering of the Poor…we see that it was into an ordinary home that Jesus was born. Isaiah 53: “For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.” This also suggests that this all happened before the wise men came from the east (Matthew 2:1-12). Mary and Joseph would not have returned to Jerusalem after being warned by the angel (Matthew 2:13), and they would not have offered only two birds after receiving the rich gifts from the wise men (Matthew 2:11).

Mary and Joseph’s obedience to the Law of God is astounding. Never once do they think they are beside the Law or above the Law even though the Messiah has been born. No, they continue to obey the Law. We also must obey the standards of God as written in his Word and not waver from what he requires of his adopted children. How obedient are you to the truth of God’s Word? – Confessing faith, being baptized as a believer, becoming a member to Grace Church, evangelizing those around you, teaching/discipling those around you are all commands from God’s word in accordance with being obedient to God.

Now that we have a little background that explains the actions of Mary and Joseph in the temple as they present Jesus to the Lord, we are ready to be introduced to Simeon, a man with a very special promise from the Lord.

We are introduced to the man with the following promise “he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ” (2:26). That is a strong promise, and who knows how long Simeon waited for this revelation. This promise was revealed to Simeon by the Holy Spirit. The promise made to Simeon affirms the reality of the Messiah’s coming. Just as the Old Testament spoke of the Messiah’s coming, the Holy Spirit has promised Simeon that he will see the Messiah in his lifetime. For Simeon, that time comes when Mary and Joseph present Jesus in the temple.

When studying Scripture, there is a temptation to help God with the details of a story or person that we think he left out. We spend too much time on the what some call, “the white space” that is, the space between the lines on the page of Scripture. As we seek to learn about who Simeon is, we want to understand this man from what the inspired words on the page tell us and nothing else.

First, we learn that Simeon was a righteous and devout man. He was one that lived his life according to the Law of God. We might say that Simeon was a good guy. But his goodness is not what secured this promise. Second, Simeon was a man that was waiting for the coming Messiah, the comfort of Israel (Isaiah 4:1-2). Third, we learn that the Holy Spirit was upon Simeon, the one who is waiting for the Messiah. The Scriptures do not tell us Simeon was a priest or what party or sect he belonged to—that information is not important to the story. This is the first and last time we see Simeon mentioned in the pages of Scripture.

I cannot help but think about the patience of Simeon as he waits for the fulfillment of the promise that he will see the Messiah. This point is important—that long before the Messiah is born, the Holy Spirit makes a promise to Simeon that he will see the Messiah in his lifetime. Imagine if we had the same promise today?

Yes, we know that Scripture teaches us that Jesus will return, as promised by the angels. If you are like me and know Jesus as your Savior, you cannot wait for this moment. But what if you knew that he would return in your lifetime? Well, I guess he could, but we don’t know the exact time of his return. You see, Simeon was promised that he would see the Messiah in his lifetime. The only thing Simeon did not know, was when. Today as we live for the Lord, we have a promise that one day we will see Jesus face-to-face (1 John 3:2). Until that time, may we continue to walk with him fulfilling the mission he has called us to complete (Matthew 28).

Next, we see Simeon in a very powerful and intimate moment. The providence of God, through the Holy Spirit’s presence in Simeon’s life, brings Simeon into the temple as Mary and Joseph present Jesus, his Messiah! There is no indication that others are present at this moment, but with Simeon’s own eyes he finally sees the promised Messiah.

Well, what does one do in that moment? Simeon takes his Messiah in his arms (imagine this, the Son of God cradled in another’s arms) and blesses God. Simeon then utters a powerful psalm. The psalm and what Simeon says to Mary are truly profound (vss. 34-35).

First, Simeon says that he is ready to die since the Lord’s promise has been fulfilled. The term “now” speaks to the truth that the Messiah has come. Second, Simeon offers praise to God that salvation is now available for all people, both Jew and Gentile because the Messiah has come. Third, Simeon tells Mary that Jesus will suffer, and she will suffer because of him, but this is necessary for the redemption of sin.

After Simeon speaks these words his voice goes silent. We hear nothing more from Simeon following his contact with the Messiah in the temple on that day. Scripture does not reveal how old Simeon was or when he died, what the Scripture tells us is that Simeon sees the Messiah in his lifetime which is proof the Messiah had come to redeem us from our sin.

It was an odd assignment to preach on Zechariah’s song, because though his story began before the songs that were preached over the last two weeks (Elizabeth’s Song and Mary’s Song, Luke 1:39-56), his own song comes after. Aside from the grand moment of Mary’s visit, the narrative of Zechariah’s life has been in suspended animation since Gabriel’s final words were left ringing in his ears, “these things… will be fulfilled in their time” (v. 20). 

The amazing thing about Simeon’s prophecy is that it shows that this light is for the Gentiles also. The salvation of Jesus began with Israel but was always to be extended beyond Israel.

I read a poet’s expression of Simeon’s heart: “I fear no sin, I dread no death; I have lived long enough, I have my life; I have longed enough, I have my love; I have seen long enough, I have my light; I have served enough, I have my saint; I have sorrowed enough, I have my joy;
Sweet babe, let this psalm serve as a lullaby to thee, and for a funeral for me. Oh, sleep in my arms, and let me sleep in thy peace.”

(33-35) A promise and a warning from Simeon. “And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed(and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

We can imagine their combination of joy and surprise to see how God has touched the hearts of others with an understanding of their Son. No matter how well you know Jesus, there is something special about seeing someone else come to know Him. Simeon proclaims that this child is called “For the fall and rising of many.” This would be shown in the way that Peter repented, but Judas despaired; in that one thief blasphemed, the other believed. Jesus is like a magnet that is attractive to some, but others are repelled from Him. “And a sign which will be spoken against.” Sign is literally “a target that people shoot at.” Jesus would be the target of great evil. “A sword will pierce through your own soul also.” It was important for Mary to know that mothering the Messiah would not be all sweetness and light. It was both a great privilege and a great burden. Possibly no other human agonized as much over Jesus’ rejection and suffering as His mother did. This was not only because of the natural love of a mother, but also because His rejection was her rejection. Wonderfully, His vindication was hers also as we heard a couple weeks ago in her song: God was Savior for Mary, just like us, by faith.

Side note: This is not Simeon’s song, but I want to point out another character here. In verses 36-38, we read – “36 And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, 37 and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. 38 And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.”

We don’t know in what capacity Anna was a prophetess. Perhaps it was in the way that she brought forth this specific word about Jesus – giving thanks to God and speaking about the redemption that was found in the Messiah to all who looked for it. She did not depart from the temple, but served God with fasting and prayer night and day. This godly woman served God with total devotion. Anna’s close walk with God was shown by her love for Jesus, and her desire to tell others about Jesus. In these short verses, we can see Anna was a remarkable woman. As a widow she knew pain and loss but had not become bitter toward God. As an elderly woman she had not lost hope in His promises. Perhaps it was because she was a woman of worship and a woman of prayer. May we also be people known for our worship and prayer.

We all have things we want so badly we can hardly stand it—things like healthy relationships, the end of pain and suffering, a restoration of normal—whatever that is for you. The waiting seems like torture. And the question we all ask is, Is it worth the wait? OR Is Jesus worthy of your waiting? 

We fail to comprehend how much joyful obedience, hope, perseverance, and trust with the Holy Spirit count with God as an act of faith. Have hope that God is at work, in spite of the circumstances, God will reward you, and it will be worth the wait, whether the thing you wait for is actually a part of God’s loving, wisdom-filled plan for you. The wait is a means of grace to draw you closer to your greatest need and treasure – Christ. The question is what will you do while you’re waiting?

Simeon was faithful, while waiting – God was worth it. As he sees God move and fulfill the promise in his life, Simeon responds with a beautiful song to highlight the work of Christ, the comfort of Christ, and the eternal impact of Christ for all peoples. Waiting on the Lord brought Simeon joy in the fulfillment, but Simeon had peace in his waiting and worship of God – would this describe you as you wait upon the Lord?

Let me close with this, Simeon held Jesus and thanked God for allowing him to see the child that would reveal God’s true nature to his people. Simeon’s attitude was, “I’m ready to die. You can take me home now. It’s been worth the wait.” Simeon made some prophetic statements, both good news and bad, in verses 34–35. The Bible says that Joseph and Mary “marveled at what was said.”

This morning, I know that some of you have come because it is tradition to come sit in church, sing some songs, and treasure the nostalgia in your heart. Some of you love Jesus and know that this gathering realigns your affections to Christ. Some of you were dragged here, you have no interest in Jesus (He has interest in you…)

As we respond to God’s word in song as we close, I pray that each of us can pause for a moment and think on our motivation for celebrating Christmas. May Jesus be at the center. From our delight in Him, may we enjoy every good gift from our Heavenly Father. Good food, good desserts, good drinks, good music, laughter, tears, an increase in trust in our Good God…from His work in our hearts, would we continue to serve Him with joy and peace that comes from Jesus our King. This is for our good and the glory of God.

Luke 1:67-79

67 And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,

68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
    for he has visited and redeemed his people

69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us
    in the house of his servant David,

70 as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,

71 that we should be saved from our enemies
    and from the hand of all who hate us;

72 to show the mercy promised to our fathers
    and to remember his holy covenant,

73 the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
74     that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear,
75     in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
    for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,

77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people
    in the forgiveness of their sins,

78 because of the tender mercy of our God,
    whereby the sunrise shall visit us[a] from on high

79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
    to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

This is the third Sunday of Advent, a season thick with anticipation. Advent is an extended time of savoring the story and meditating on the meaning of Christ’s first coming. We are looking to stir our affections for Christ, heightening the sense of anticipation, in the hope that when we reach Christmas, our soul magnifies the Lord and we rejoice in God our Savior as we ought. 

One biblically-endorsed and reliable way to provoke godly affections is through song. That’s why we sing in corporate worship. True, there is a certain kind of affection-stirring that happens when we recite the Apostles Creed during our communion liturgy. But both our hearts and our minds can be deeply moved when melodies are joined together with truth, with words carefully crafted and ordered. 

When words follow a rhythmic meter and are arranged for beauty, we call it poetry. The aim of poetry is different from that of daily speech. The goal of most of our speech is thorough and precise information transmission. (True, prose can be delightfully articulate.) But, as Dave said in his sermon on Elizabeth’s song two weeks ago, “[P]oetry is designed by God with a unique ability to drive truth deep into our hearts.  Poems are often meant to be narrower in scope, but greater in impact” (David VanAcker, Elizabeth’s Song: The Baby In My Womb Leapt for Joy). 

To that end, we have been unpacking the songs of Luke’s gospel for three weeks now. Elizabeth’s song was first, then Mary’s, called the Magnificat because of the Latin translation of “magnifies”, the first word in her song. Our text for today, Zechariah’s song, is traditionally called the Benedictus, or “blessed”, for a similar reason. 

The big idea of this sermon is that the God who can be trusted to fulfill age-old promises can also be trusted with the grand hopes and the minute details of our lives. The main takeaway, therefore, is to rejoice that God has remembered his people in the advent of our King and relish all that means for us.

Let’s pray. Father, sustain us in this hour, to attend to your Word. Nourish our souls, strengthen our faith, unite our hearts and our minds, and increase our savor of this season. Amen

In his opening chapters, Luke, in no uncertain terms, presents his gospel as a manifesto that Jesus is the Christ, that offspring of David through whom God promised to bring peace and an everlasting kingdom. He presents Jesus to us as the One through whom the loose threads of Scripture’s grand promises tie together. Thereby he overwhelms us with rich, densely packed biblical theology in these early passages, of which there is no more intense example than Zechariah’s song. Just as surely as Elizabeth and Mary were pregnant with God’s promise-fulfillers, so Zechariah’s heart would be pregnant with wonder at the anticipation of the promises about to be fulfilled.  

But before we dig into Zechariah’s song we need to ask: Where did it come from? A song like this doesn’t just spring up from thin air. To understand the inspiration for his exuberant reaction, we need to consider how he arrived at this day: Who is he, where does he come from, and how does that inform his response to the birth of his son? To answer these, let’s flip back a page and consider chapter 1:5-25.

Beginning in verses 5-7, we meet Zechariah and Elizabeth and Luke gives us three distinguishing features of the couple. 

First, he tells us both are from the bloodline of Moses’ brother Aaron the priest. Luke tells us generically that Elizabeth is “from the daughters of Aaron”. Her name is a Greek translation of the Hebrew name Elisheba, Aaron’s wife. Of Zechariah, he tells us that he is a priest of the division of Abijah, which we’ll look at more in a minute. 

Second, he says that they were both “righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord” (v. 6). (Walking blamelessly doesn’t mean that they were without sin, but that they were above reproach. Like the prophet Daniel, no one would be able to “find any ground for complaint against [them] unless [they found] it in connection with the law of [their] God” (Daniel 6:5). They kept the law, and if they sinned, they made it right according to the law.) By calling them righteous and blameless, Luke is making clear that there’s no fault in them that anyone could point to as a reason for this next distinguishing feature.

Third, and finally, Luke says Zechariah and Elizabeth “had no child”. Why? “[B]ecause Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years” (v. 7). The adjective barren is a synonym for emptiness and desolation – a painful and insensitive way to describe childlessness. That Elizabeth is barren means that they had tried for years to conceive without success. Further, Elizabeth is post-menopausal. She’s no longer ovulating. That she is barren and they are too old anyway is a double-whammy reason why, humanly speaking, conception is impossible. 

What do you think that felt like? Some of you know what infertility is like. Alena and I have been there. It’s painful seeing everyone else around you with their happy, full home and their busy schedule of activities. You feel your powerlessness. What’s more, you depended on children to care for you in your old age. How much more then, when there was no pension, no social security, no Medicaid? They might have wondered what they’d done to deserve it. Elizabeth called it her “reproach among people” in verse 25. When talking with Mary, the angel Gabriel referred to Elizabeth as she who was “called barren” (v. 36). 

People likely assumed they deserved it. Think about the book of Job – wasn’t that assumption behind his three friends’ accusations the very heart of the dialogue? Luke later recounts a conversation where Jesus rebuked his disciples for assuming bad things happen only to bad people. Jesus’ response was essentially, “there are no good people” (Luke 13:3, 5). No one deserves the good that they get, nor should we assume bad things happen only because people deserve it. (Maybe you’ve noticed, there are plenty of bad people who have kids!) But as Luke has already assured us, there’s nothing in who they are or how they’ve lived that explains why they have no child. 

The background Luke includes here is not arbitrary. And the language he uses signals something else that would raise flags for anyone comfortable with the Old Testament. First, with reference to conception, being “advanced in years” was only applied elsewhere to Abraham and Sarah. Further, as one commentator says, “Whenever Scripture pronounced a woman ‘barren’, God later gave her the holy son for whom she longed” (J. Edwards, The Gospel According to Luke, p. 34, Eerdmans). 

Seeing the label of “barren” in Scripture should cue you in that grand moments in the history of redemption are about to unfold. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob’s wives were all once called barren, only to conceive by the conspicuous intervention of God. Later Samson was conceived after an angel appeared to his mother. Then Hannah, of whom it was said that “the LORD closed her womb”, conceived in answer to her prayer. Luke is cueing us in here that this is more than just a story about Zechariah and Elizabeth.   

In verses 8-10, Luke then relates about a very special day that had come for Zechariah. The division of Abijah was one of 24 priestly divisions that took turns in Temple service. There were upwards of 18-24,000 priests. Huge numbers were needed at times, such as during the Passover slaughter of tens of thousands of lambs. But generally speaking, their division served in the Temple routinely twice a year. And with maybe a thousand priests in his division, it would have been entirely possible for Zechariah to finish out his years of service and never once enter the Temple. 

But, he was chosen by lot. By chance, so to speak. So Zechariah entered the Holy Place, the room outside the curtain before the Holy of Holies. There stood the Lampstand, the Table of the Showbread, and the Altar where he would offer incense. This incense was prescribed to be offered morning and evening in Exodus chapter 30. Later in Scripture (Psalm 141:2; Daniel 9 v. 21; Revelation 5:8 and 8:3-4) incense is closely associated with the prayers of the saints, mingling together as a sweet aroma to arise before God. 

What do you suppose the multitude of the people outside were praying while Zechariah was in the Temple? Maybe the next verses will give us some clues. 

While the people were outside praying and Zechariah was inside offering the incense, something extraordinary happened.

 [11] … an angel of the Lord [appeared] standing on the right side of the altar… [12] And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him… [13] But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. [14] And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, [15] for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. [16] And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, [17] and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

The angel’s appearance was a dramatic moment. After 400 years, the famine of hearing God’s words had finally broken (Amos 8:11). Interestingly, the last person to actually see an angel was also named Zechariah, one of the Minor Prophets. Zechariah responds with a dread of the uncanny characteristic of many in Scripture. But the angel reassures him, saying his prayers have been heard (Cf. Daniel 10:21). Then he foretells that their son John will fulfill Malachi’s prophecy as the one who prepares the way for the Lord to come to His people. John would be the forerunner of the long-expected Anointed One. 

The name Zechariah means Yahweh has Remembered. When the angel told Zechariah, “your prayer has been heard”, he was telling him, “Yahweh has remembered you”. Consider some other examples: “But God remembered Noah…and the waters receded” (Genesis 8:1); “God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow” (Genesis 19:29); “Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb” (Genesis 30:22). When Scripture talks about God remembering, it doesn’t mean that he had forgotten. It means he is keeping his promise of mercy. 

Yahweh has remembered not only this elderly couple but the whole nation. So what do I think the people outside were praying? I imagine it was something like what Moses tells us Exodus 2:

[23] … the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. [24] And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. [25] God saw the people of Israel—and God knew. (Exodus 2:23–25)

Just as the incense and the prayers of the saints mingled together and rose before God, so the answer to the prayer of the elderly couple and the multitude gathered outside were intertwined in the providence of God. 

But Zechariah was not prepared to receive this. 

[18] [he] said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” [19] And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. [20] And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” [21] And… when he came out, he was unable to speak to [the people], and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. He kept making signs to them and remained mute. [23] And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.

Things had been going great. The opportunity of a lifetime came. But in the finest hour his life, Zechariah muffed it. He fumbled the ball. He doubted not only the miraculous conception God had promised him, but thereby he doubted God’s power to keep his covenant with Abraham and David. He came out deaf (so it seems) and dumb. It was over, so he went home. One commentator called this “a rather anticlimactic conclusion to what had been a phenomenal week” (John MacArthur, MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Luke 1-5, p. 30). 

But would it be the end of the story? 

Luke writes,
[24] After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived

What happened in Zechariah’s heart during the nine months of silence between Gabriel’s appearance and John’s birth? Clearly, the Zechariah who met Gabriel in the temple was a different man from the Zechariah who burst into song. What heart work happened between his statement of unbelief and his overflow of praise? 

It seems he went from eyes focused on his navel (i.e., unmet expectations of fatherhood), to gladness in the grander purposes of God without regard to his own station. Gabriel’s visit occasioned the revelation of long-entrenched, perhaps unconscious attitudes regarding their barrenness. It seems he was convicted by this after he was made dumb, and then processed it in the coming months. Regarding all of these things we can only speculate. 

But we do know he went home, he knew Elizabeth, and she conceived (v. 24). Later Mary showed up at their door when Elizabeth was six months pregnant, the baby leapt in her womb at Mary’s greeting, and his wife was filled with the Spirit and with song. Then he heard Mary’s song. And lastly of course, John was born (vs. 57-66). 

Zechariah had been sentenced to silence because of his unbelief. But it wasn’t merely punishment. One author says: 

“The purpose of Gabriel’s judgment is not to annul the choice of Zechariah, nor does it… halt the fulfillment of God’s promise. It is a remedial work of the Spirit – a severe mercy – that will enable faith” (Edwards, p. 39). 

Have you experienced that kind of mercy? Last week Dave said that “kids… seem to be continually moving from anticipation to anticipation”. But how often we adults tend instead to move from vexation to vexation, from anxiety to anxiety. Before he was struck dumb, Zechariah was like that. Despite our religious devotion or a profound depth of biblical knowledge, we sometimes respond to God’s mysterious providence with unbelief. Thus, like Zechariah, we reveal our own need for heart work. 

Listen! In Christ, all severity is mercy. I came down with a cold this week. Blessed be God, because it gave me a sick day from work or this sermon might not have gotten done. Do I think you all got sick too just so I could have an extra day to work on the sermon? Probably not. The minute details and grand hopes of our lives are weaved together to work the ultimate good for God’s purposes. Our lives may be just a few passes or knots or however needlework or tapestry works, but they do fit together perfectly with the grandest moments of redemption that God is also weaving – just like they did for Zechariah.

God’s hand of discipline was upon him during those silent months that followed. Under that severe mercy, he went from not believing God was capable of managing a single conception, to recognizing that God was capable of fulfilling hundreds- and thousands-year-old promises to a nation, that the bloodline of the patriarchs had been built on so-called barren couples. “For nothing will be impossible with God” (Luke 1:37). 

Like new wine, faith began to ferment and grow, bubbling within Zechariah, ready to burst forth at John’s birth.  

It was an odd assignment to preach on Zechariah’s song, because though his story began before the songs that were preached over the last two weeks (Elizabeth’s Song and Mary’s Song, Luke 1:39-56), his own song comes after. Aside from the grand moment of Mary’s visit, the narrative of Zechariah’s life has been in suspended animation since Gabriel’s final words were left ringing in his ears, “these things… will be fulfilled in their time” (v. 20). 

But in v. 57 Luke picks the story back up with the words, “Now the time came…”. The promised forerunner was born. At his circumcision, Zechariah’s statement, “His name is John” (v. 63) is his unequivocal declaration of faith – his former unbelief has dissolved. “Immediately his tongue was loosed” (v. 64) and the mute man poured forth a flood of Scripture-saturated lyric in praise to God. 

And so, finally, the song. I won’t elaborate on the poetic form of Zechariah’s song, because I don’t know how. And I’m not sure dissecting the poem like a biology project will help you appreciate its beauty. But I do want to help you see its Old Testament roots and unpack what it celebrates.

Zechariah’s song seamlessly weaves together a treasury of Old Testament narrative, psalm, and prophecy. The language of the song cues us into what God is doing through the arrival of John, the Preparer, and Jesus, the Promise-Fulfiller, who will usher in the ultimate moment in History. 

The song begins, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel” (v. 68), a phrase uniquely coined by David and carried forward only by his son Solomon. It’s David’s response when his future wife Abigail keeps him from bloodguilt with regard to that fool Nabal (1 Samuel 25:32). And it’s David’s response at the end of his life when he knows that his son will inherit his throne (1 Kings 1:48). Solomon echoes back this blessing at the dedication of the Temple, saying, “Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, who with his hand has fulfilled what he promised to David my father” (1 Kings 8:15). 

In all these responses, David and Solomon rejoice not in immediate personal deliverance, but in Yahweh’s intervention to secure His promise to David and to his offspring, guaranteeing the persistence and inevitable dominion of the Kingdom of God. 

In the Bible, visiting means more than stopping in for a chat or for a holiday. It even means more than Mary coming to stay with Zechariah and Elizabeth for three months. 

Visitation can be bad. More often than not, in Scripture God is visiting people’s iniquities on their heads or upon their offspring – meting out justice. 

Visitation can be good for some and bad for others. Zechariah’s enthusiasm would not be celebrated by all. Thus, Luke later recounts (19:44) how Jesus wept over Jerusalem and pronounced her destruction because she “did not know the day of [her] visitation”.  

But in places where it is used in a desirable sense, God is coming to save his people. Those instances where God visits his people are significant waypoints in the road to redemption, God preserving Abraham’s line at critical moments. For example, he visited Sarah and she conceived Isaac (Genesis 21:1). He also visited Hannah and she conceived and bore Samuel (1 Samuel 2:21). In Egypt he promised through Joseph to visit Israel in 400 years and bring them home to Abraham’s inheritance. And during the Babylonian exile he promised through the prophet Jeremiah to visit them after 70 years and bring them back home (Jeremiah 29:10). We see in Luke’s gospel sequel, the book of Acts, that Peter “recounted how God visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name” (15:14). And Peter himself refers to that Day when Christ will return as “the day of visitation” (1 Peter 2:12). 

However, Zechariah poetically describes God’s visitation not primarily as an event, but a person. He points us to Malachi 4 (vs. 1-2) – “the day is breaking [and] the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings”. The arrival of Jesus Christ is the sunrise, Christ himself being the Sun, or “The Dawning One” in vs. 78 (translation per Edwards, p. 64) who shall visit us. As Balaam prophesied long before, “A Star shall arise out of Jacob” (Numbers 24:17), so Jesus would later declare in John’s Revelation, “I am… the descendant of David, the bright morning star” (Rev. 22:16). 

He it is who “gives light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death”, “salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins”, and “[guidance of] their feet into the pathway of peace” (vs. 77, 79). 

“[T]o remember His holy covenant” (v. 72) is the reason for His visitation. Most fundamentally Zachariah has in view God’s promise to Abraham (v. 73), that his offspring would be God’s heir, bringing His blessing to all the peoples (Genesis 22:16-18). But what of His covenant with David to set an heir on his throne, forever over an everlasting kingdom (2 Samuel 7:8-13)? God’s covenant with David both rests within His covenant with Abraham and is the guarantee of its fulfillment.

In fact, the promises of both are realized through the person of Jesus Christ. God’s raising up of “a horn of salvation from the house of David” (v. 69) is the decisive act of faithfulness to His covenant with Abraham. Paul made this connection quite clearly in Galatians chapter 3 (7-9, 29), saying, all who are Christ’s by faith are heirs of all that God promised Abraham. 

What motivates Yahweh to do all this for us? Zechariah says he is showing “the mercy promised to our fathers” (v. 72). The same word translated “mercy” here is elsewhere translated “compassion” and “steadfast love”. More than a feeling, it’s covenant love in action. God is viscerally moved with compassion for his people. As Zechariah says in verse 78, it is “the tender mercy of our God” that moves Him. The Greek word for tender (splágchna) is where we get the name for the splanchnic nerve, which innervates our visceral organs and acts on them whenever our emotions are deeply moved. Numerous places in Scripture use it to compare the depth of feeling God has for his people to that which a father has for his children. For example, 

To what end does God save us? Once light dawns upon us, the sins are forgiven, we are delivered from our enemies, and we enter the pathway of peace – what then? Zechariah says we will “serve him without fear” (vs. 74). Here serving means “priestly service in worship” (Edwards, p. 63). The goal of redemption is that God’s people would be freed to worship him “in holiness and righteousness” forever (v. 75). Wasn’t that God’s repeated command to Pharaoh through Moses and Aaron? “Let my people go, that they may serve me”? And God promised that the redeemed would be his “treasured possession… a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:6). Peter applies this passage to the New Testament church, saying you and I are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession”, saved so that we “might proclaim the excellencies of Him who called [us] out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). 

Israel’s enslavement in Egypt, God’s visitation on them, and the resulting exodus image forth the visitation of Christ on we who are enslaved to sin. Luke later tells us (9:31) that at his transfiguration, Jesus discussed with Moses and Elijah the “exodus that he was about to accomplish”. Through Jesus, God has visited us and redeemed us out of our bondage to sin, to bring us home that we may serve him. True freedom, as I recently heard said (Shepherding a Child’s Heart, Tedd Tripp), is not found in autonomy, but in obedience. 

Listen to the Apostle Paul, “Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness… [since] having been set free from sin [you] have become slaves of righteousness… [no longer to] present your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness… [Instead,] present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification… now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God” (Romans 6:13, 18, 19, 22). 

Mary’s Magnificat, apart from her statement that “from now on all generations will call me blessed”, is an expression of joy in who God is and what he has done. Zechariah’s song though is more than poetry. As we see in verse 67, Luke says Zechariah “prophesied”. True, there is still a cross to be borne and much battling remains to be done, but the Champion has arrived, and the decisive victory in the war for our very souls was at hand. He has come to rescue His Bride. And that is cause for celebrating all that the coming of Messiah will mean for us. 

As I said at the outset of my sermon, Luke set forth from the first pages of his Gospel a treatise on the Old Testament roots of the Advent. While they fit handily in the pocket, those who live only by Gideon’s New Testament are missing much of the story – like having the answer without knowing the question. John’s birth narrative is not the birth of God’s “Plan B”. It’s been said that, “The incarnation of Jesus Christ is not a random and unprecedented innovation of God, but the fulfillment of a purposeful chain of saving events in Israel, of which the birth of John is the penultimate link” (Edwards, p. 63). 

God is not caught off guard. Yahweh doesn’t realize; Yahweh remembers. 

He remembers nations and he remembers barren couples. Our God is not capable only of managing the big moments in redemptive history. He is working in the minutest details of your daily life, aware of your hopes and dreams, and seeking your best good. His intervention on your behalf is inevitable. So, when severe mercy comes, lean into it. May your faith in the first advent of Christ and his return be matched by your faith in the benevolence interest of Yahweh for you, his child. 

Closing prayer:
(Isaiah 9:2–7)

Father, we who walked in darkness have seen a great light;
On us who dwelt in a land of deep darkness has the Dawning One shone.
You have multiplied the nation; 
you have increased its joy;
we rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, 
as they are glad when they divide the spoil.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel. Amen

Luke 1:39-45

46 And Mary said, 
“My soul magnifies the Lord, 

47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 

48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. 
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 

49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me, 
and holy is his name. 

50 And his mercy is for those who fear him 
from generation to generation. 

51 He has shown strength with his arm; 
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; 

52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones 
and exalted those of humble estate; 

53 he has filled the hungry with good things, 
and the rich he has sent away empty. 

54 He has helped his servant Israel, 
in remembrance of his mercy, 

55 as he spoke to our fathers, 
to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

What comes to mind when I say the word “anticipation”?  Maybe you immediately think of a definition.  Maybe the first thing you think of is a time in which you or someone near you was filled with it.  I usually think of kids who seem to be continually moving from anticipation to anticipation.    

We’ve all experienced it, but what is it, exactly?  What does it look like?  Why is it so strong some times?  Where does it come from?  Is it good or bad?  Those are some of the questions I hope to answer today as we consider Mary’s song in Luke.  

More importantly, though, I hope that after this sermon you will have a clearer understanding of the nature of your own anticipation, a crystal-clear picture of what it looks like to anticipate in a manner that pleases the Lord, and a heightened sense of anticipation surrounding Christmas.

All of that brings us to our passage for this morning, which is a means of God’s grace to all those ends.  Mary’s song, often called the Magnificat, is a beautiful song of anticipation.  It is a sweet lesson in anticipation.  It is, perhaps, the best picture of the best anticipation there is.  In those ways, it offers significant help in developing right kinds of anticipation, about the right things of Christmas, in the right amounts.  And because of that, I hope that after spending some time in this passage it is what comes to mind when we think of anticipation from now on.

The big ideas of this sermon are that (1) God’s great promises require great anticipation and (2) great anticipation regarding God’s promises requires God’s great help.  The main takeaway, therefore, is to prayerfully consider Mary’s song and turn it into greater anticipation for and celebration of Jesus’ birth and return.  

I’d like you to consider some of the questions I posed in the introduction.  What is anticipation?  What does it look like?  Why is it so strong some times?  Where does it come from?  Is it good or bad?  

In that vein, before we get to Mary’s song, I’d like to share a small handful of thoughts on the nature of anticipation in order to help us best grasp and apply it.    

First, a definition.  There is a way in which anticipation is neutral (the expectation of something either desirable or undesirable), but that’s not how I’m using the term here.  I’m using it as the opposite of dread (since I don’t think there really is a word that is precisely the opposite of dread in English, and we need one for things like Christmas).  We need a word that both expects and desires a thing to come.  That’s how I’m using anticipation.

In that way, where dread is the desire to avoid something we believe is coming, anticipation is the desire to have something we believe is coming.   

Similarly, where our dread-level is determined by how much we don’t want something combined with how likely we believe it is that we’ll get it, the level of our anticipation is determined by how much we want something combined with how likely we believe it is that we’ll get it.  The less you want something and the more likely it is that you’ll get it, the more the dread.  And the more you want something and the more likely it is that you’ll get it, the more the anticipation.  Dread and anticipation come from opposite ends of likely-fulfilled desire.    

Anticipation is something we all experience on some level because it is from God.  That is, like most experiences common to mankind, anticipation is a part of our lives because God gave it to us.  Anticipation exists because God made it when He created time and gave promises.  Anticipation is a gift from God.  

A third thought on anticipation, is that like all of God’s gifts, the gift of anticipation is meant to be used and enjoyed properly.  That is to say, God cares about what and how we anticipate.  Not all anticipation is good.  Anticipating sin or sinfully anticipating are both misuses of God’s gift and do not honor God.  Good anticipation longs for good things in good ways.   Properly calibrated, therefore, it is a great gift.  What a blessing it is to have hope and longing and excitement concerning some good thing of God.  What a gift it is when we can rightly look forward to something in eager expectation.  God didn’t have to create anticipation and He certainly didn’t have to gift it to us, but He did, as a blessing for us, because He loves us.

Next thought (two more): God gives us the gift of anticipation ultimately for the purpose of drawing our attention to His great promises.  He wants us to love His promises and long for them to be fulfilled.  Therefore, anticipation (a growing longing for the fulfillment of God’s promises in our lives) is from God, for the time between His promises coming to us and their fulfillment.  It is the right and God-honoring disposition for all of us, continually, until Jesus returns.  We should never not be in a state of anticipation. 

To live as God intends means experiencing constant and, at times, very intense anticipation.  In that way, you cannot be a Christian if you have no anticipation (since God has made promises to all Christians).  And in that way, you cannot be a mature Christian if you only have small amounts of anticipation (since God has promised many awesome things to Christians).

This means, then, that God created and gifted anticipation for things like Christmas—the promise of Jesus having come and coming again.  As I mentioned last week, that’s what Advent is.  Advent is a season intended to help us grow in our anticipation of celebrating the past promise of God fulfilled (Jesus’ birth) and of His return to restore and reign over all things forever!  

As we’ve already seen, although anticipation is common to us all, rightly anticipating right things in right amounts is not.  Finally, then, the issue we all face is not whether we will anticipate, but whether we will do so in a manner pleasing to God?  

Having God’s promises, understanding them, believing them, and longing for them in confidence (the necessary ingredients of anticipation), all require God’s help.  We simply can’t get or grow in any of them on our own.  

To that end, it is good news indeed that two of the most beautiful and significant aspects of Mary’s song are its thoroughly godly anticipation and the lessons it gives us for godly anticipation (the example it is for us of living out the things we just considered).  

The kind of anticipation God made us for, the kind that pleases Him, the kind we need for rightly celebrating Christmas, is the kind of anticipation that is firmly rooted in God’s promises.  That was as true for Mary in her day as it is for us in ours.  

In that way, Mary’s song of anticipation in Luke 1:46-55 was in response to the promises she was given shortly before (in 1:26-30).   Before we can understand and appreciate her song, then, we need to consider the promises that inspired it.  As I read through these few verses, see how many promises you can identify.  

Luke 1:26-38  In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,  27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary.  28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”  29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.  30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.  32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,  33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”  34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”  35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.  36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.  37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”  38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Through the angel, Gabriel, God promised Mary that: 

She was favored by God (twice) (28, 30).

The Lord was with her (28).

She need not fear what was to come because it was from God and God would empower her for it (30, 35).

By the Spirit of God, she would conceive a son as a virgin (31, 34, 35).

Her son would be great and would be called the holy Son of God (32, 35).

Her son would be given the throne of David and would reign from it forever (32-33).

Her barren relative had conceived six months prior (36).

Nothing is impossible with God (37).

My wife, Gerri, used to get really, really excited in anticipation of $2 burritos at Chipotle on Halloween.  Imagine what Mary must have felt like.  Our passage says that at first, she was “greatly troubled” (1:29).  And then she was confused (1:34).  And then, finally, she accepted the promises and the anticipation began, “Let it be to me according to your word” (1:38)!  

If we are to rightly anticipate Christmas, therefore Grace, our anticipation must begin with a promise that Christmas is good news for us.  Are you aware of any promises that God has made to us in Christmas?  

In Christmas we are promised a Wonderful Counselor (Isaiah 9:6).

In Christmas we are promised limitless peace in the never-ending kingdom of Jesus (Isaiah 9:7).

In Christmas we are promised eternal justice and righteousness in the God-Man (Isaiah 9:7).

In Christmas we are promised a Savior for all mankind (Luke 2:11).

In Christmas we are promised a Great Redeemer (Romans 3:24).

In Christmas we are promised One who would reconcile us to God (2 Corinthians 5:18).

In Christmas we are promised a Glorious Restorer of all things (Acts 3:19-21).

In Christmas we are promised new birth (1Peter 1:23-25)

In Christmas we are promised eternal life (John 3:14-16).  

In Christmas we are promised adoption into God’s family (Romans 8:12-17).

In Christmas we are promised that God will be with us forever (Matthew 1:23).

And these are just the beginning.  Like Mary, what great promises we have!   If we are to rightly anticipate Christmas, then, we must know, reflect on, and learn to love and trust and expect the promises of Christmas.  And this leads us to Mary’s song for more help.  

All oGod-glorifying Christmas anticipation and celebration begins with the receiving of God’s Christmas promises and then grows as we come to value and expect them to be fulfilled.  

But let’s be honest…none of us are moved like we should be by the promises that I just listed.  We don’t anticipate Christmas well—at times—because we don’t value God and his promises rightly at times.  Or, perhaps, we value the promises, but we don’t believe they will really come to pass in a meaningful way.  

Once again, I don’t know of a more beautiful picture of someone who had, believed, loved, and fully trusted God’s promises than we find in Mary’s song.  This is what it looks like to believe without a doubt that God will do what He has said.  Our hearts ought to love God like this, trust God’s promises like this, and be filled with the joy of the Spirit like this.  We ought to anticipate like this.  And when we do, there will be a flood of peace and warmth and sweetness and rest that comes and grows and sings whenever we have promises this good and believe them this much.  

Consider with me the song of Mary and ask the Lord to make you believe like her, treasure like her, and sing like her (anticipate like her) this Christmas.   

Luke 1:46-55  “My soul magnifies the Lord,  47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,  48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;  49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.  50 And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.  51 He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;  52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate;  53 he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away.  54 He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy,  55 as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.” 

Mary is overwhelmed with gladness and the promises of God she’s just heard.  Her response is a jubilant, celebration in poetry and song.  To help us all learn to respond like this, I’d like to draw your attention to three poetic aspects of Mary’s song: (1) It celebrates God’s glory above all, (2) It celebrates God’s promises for all people, and (3) It celebrates God’s promises for all times.

The main theme of this poem is the reality that God is greater than Mary had ever and could ever imagine.  She got a greater taste of it than most, but she was beginning to understand that it she was only scratching the surface.  And it is because of God’s unending greatness that His promises are supremely valuable and certain to come to pass.  

As Mary contemplated God’s salvation (47), omniscience (48), might (49), benevolence (49), holiness (49), mercy (50, 52-54), eternality (50, 55), strength, even omnipotence (51), kindness (52-53), justice (52-53), help (53-54), and imminence (55), how could she not be filled with wonder and joy and hope and gratitude (anticipation) that God would certainly be faithful to all His promises.

Because of these things, Mary couldn’t help but to sing from the depths of her being (her soul and spirit) to her God of infinite glory, “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior…”

We find help in anticipating Christmas rightly when appreciate God’s promises appropriately.  And we will grow to appreciate God’s promises appropriately when we see that God Himself is the greatest promise and treasure of all.  The best news of Christmas is Immanuel, the God of all glory with us!

If we are to rightly anticipate Christmas, we must appreciate the promises and, infinitely more significantly, the Promiser with our whole being.  Grace, allow your Christmas anticipation to grow as you recognize that this is still our God.  

The second remarkable feature of Mary’s song is that it celebrates God’s promises that are both near and far.  

For Mary, they are as near as they get.  They are for her.  She marveled at the fact that a God like God would even think of her, much less set the full measure of His kindness upon her.  

48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;  49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.  

God looked on Mary in her humble estate and promised to make her estate anything but humble.  Imagine being a young, poor, uneducated, vulnerable, small-town girl with next to nothing to offer, coming from a poor uneducated, vulnerable, small-town family with next to nothing to offer, and being given the promise to be exalted to the point that all generations, forever would acknowledge the blessing given to you at the mighty hand of God?!  

Mary’s life was full of the exact kinds of things that tend to make the faithless sad and discouraged.  But her God-given anticipation, flowing from her God-given promises completely overshadowed that, even as those things can and ought to for you and I as well.  

As awesome as that is, God’s promises of amazing blessing were not for Mary alone.  She also sang of God’s gracious promises and perfect faithfulness for all the children of Abraham, God’s covenant people.  

54 He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 55 as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.” 

God’s promises of blessing spread out from Mary to her people, Israel; from near to further.  But they do not end there, she sang.  They go from near to further, to far—to everyone, everywhere who will trust in God.  

50 And his mercy is for those who fear him …

God always shows mercy to all those who fear him because of his Son who was born on Christmas (50).  God gives His protective strength to all who trust in Him for our rest and delight because of his Son who was born on Christmas (51).  God lays low the proud (leaving them hungry and wanting) because of his Son who was born on Christmas (51-52).  And God exalts all the truly humble in the world to esteemed places (with food and all good things) because of his Son who was born through Marry, according to His promise to her, on Christmas (52-53).  

We find help in anticipating Christmas rightly when we appreciate and trust God’s promises for what they are—great and awesome and more certain than anything else.  And we will grow to appreciate and trust God’s promises for what they are when we begin see ourselves in Mary–lowly, poor, uneducated, vulnerable, small-town, bringing nothing of significance to God, and entirely undeserving, but given the unstoppable promises of God in Jesus nonetheless.  

God’s promises are rooted in His infinite glory, are given to all people, and, finally, are for all time!

Mary sang of God’s past promises and perfect faithfulness to them.

In fulfillment of His promises, God has shown undefeatable strength (51), He has scattered the proud (51), He has brought down rich men and kings (52, 53), He has lifted up the weak to places of wealth and power (52), He has fed the hungry (53), He has helped Abraham’s offspring (54), and He has spoken to His people (55).  

God’s unwavering faithfulness to these past promises made her soul full and full of song.  

Mary also sang of God’s present promises and certain faithfulness to them.

She sang, as we’ve seen, in the midst of God having promised that the Holy Spirit would conceive the very Son of God in her womb to save the world from sin.  How’s that for a present promise?!

Mary sang of God’s promise-keeping past, present, and future.

48 … from now on all generations will call me blessed 

50 …his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. 

55 … he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

Mary knew that God will be faithful to His promises forever, without end and that made her sing.  

God’s infinite glory, mixed with His perfect past faithfulness, is why we can trust His present and future promises.  It is why we can rightly anticipate all of God’s promised blessings. And all of that is because of Christmas.

Finally, if we are to rightly anticipate Christmas, Christmas must come.  In other words, all of that sounds great as Mary sang it, but what if it never happened?  We’ve all known someone who was supremely excited about something that never ended up happening (a championship, a new job or a promotion, etc.). 

In Luke 2:15-20 we read that God’s promises to Mary were all “Yes” in Jesus’ birth.  

Luke 2:15-20  “When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”  16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.  17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.  18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.  19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.  20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.”

Mary’s song of anticipation found its mark in the birth of her Son, God in the flesh.

Likewise, in Revelation 22:20 we read that this Jesus who was born is going to return one day.

“He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!”

Only a fool keeps hoping in things that have been repeatedly promised but not delivered.  We are no fools, though, who anticipate in perfect confidence every promise of the never-failing, promise-keeping God who was born in a manger, suffered, died, rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, sits at the right hand of the Father, and who will return. 

All of God’s promises are “yes” in the Jesus who was born on Christmas day.  Mary sang of this in joyful anticipation.  We must join her song in joyful anticipation.

We’ll find great help, then, in growing the right kind of Christmas anticipation if we recognize that what we’re anticipating in Christmas is a celebration of what’s already happened, to demonstrate that God can be trusted for all that is yet to come.  Our anticipation, then, is fully assured and our help is great.

Let’s not waste our Advent and Christmas by being content with numb souls or misplaced excitement or half-hearted trust.  Let’s not get caught up in the current of our culture and waste this season by placing anything above God.  If we magnify family and friends and food and festivities above God, we really do miss out on the best of the family and friends and food and festivities and, disastrously, we miss out altogether on the God of Christmas.  Which means we’d be singing a different song than Mary.  

On the other hand, if we delight first and above all in God, we get God and family and friends and food and festivities.  

Of course, we need God’s Holy Spirit to work in us to awaken us to the precarious, dangerous position that so many of us are in and to apply the help that God has given us in The Magnificat and so many other passages of scripture.  

So, I urge you, brothers and sisters, to take a moment right now to pray.  Confess your poor or misplaced anticipation to God, receive the forgiveness that is yours by grace through faith in Jesus who was born on Christmas day, and commit to changing in the power of the Spirit.

Now, consider reclaiming at least one aspect of your anticipation and celebration.  Think about one thing that you’re going to stop doing because it is inconsistent with God-glorifying anticipation and celebration and one thing that you’re going to start doing to grow in God-glorifying anticipation and celebration.

May we all, in increasing truthfulness and zeal, echo Mary’s words this Christmas season, “My soul magnifies the Lord,  and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior…”

Luke 1:39-45

39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” 

This is, as you know, the first Sunday of Advent.  Advent, as you know, refers to the four weeks leading up to Christmas, set aside to help us prepare to celebrate Jesus’ birth and anticipate His return.  

We want to help you with those things—preparation, celebration, and anticipation.  One of the ways we plan to do so this year is with Advent readings to start each service (like we had earlier).  Another way is by singing songs celebrating the significance of the birth of Jesus (like we did earlier and will).  And another way still, is by preaching through the poetry in Luke’s Gospel concerning the coming and glory of Jesus Christ, God in the flesh.  

Why the poetry?  As I mentioned in a recent sermon, poetry is designed by God with a unique ability to drive truth deep into our hearts.  Poems are often meant to be narrower in scope, but greater in impact, which makes them ideally suited to help us experience the familiar claims of Christmas more fully—more as we ought.  

It’s one thing to factually or conceptually know that in love, God became man to save the world from sin.  It’s something else entirely to be truly moved—to worship or repentance or obedience—by it.  The Gospels are largely meant to give us the facts.  The poetry within the Gospels is largely meant to stir awe and wonder and amazement in us in response to the facts.  

With that, this week I’ll be preaching on Elizabeth’s poetic reply to Mary’s visit.  And next week I’ll be preaching on Mary’s song, the Magnificat, in the following verses (Luke 1:46-56).  

Then, the following week, December 14th, Matt will preach on the song of Zechariah in Luke 1:67-79.

On December 21st, the fourth Sunday of Advent, Pastor Colin will preach on the song of Simeon in Luke 2:25-35.  And finally, on the 28th, the Sunday after Christmas, Pastor Colin will preach on songs from Psalm 40 and Revelation 5 concerning the second coming of Jesus.  

Christmas is, objectively, a time of significant grace from God.  At the very least, it is an annual reminder of the greatest act of love ever and its profound meaning for us.  Therefore, even if this ends up being another “normal” Christmas, it is a gift to be cherished.  At the same time, Grace, we are (and invite you to join us in being) prayerfully hopeful, even expectant, that God will be pleased to do something special in and among us this year.  

With that, the big idea of this sermon is that experiencing the true significance of the incarnation is a miraculous gift from God.  The main takeaways, therefore, are to immerse ourselves in the truths concerning Jesus’ birth and the poetry that celebrates it, and with those things, to prayerfully seek God’s help (for us and the whole world) to respond as we ought.     

Our passage opens with the time-anchoring line, “In those days…”.  But, before we can understand what Luke meant by “those days,” we need to get our heads around the days leading up to them.  That is, before getting to the days of our passage, and the poetry within it, we need a bit of background.  And the background we need goes all the way back to the beginning.  

In the very first chapters of the Bible, in Genesis 1-2, we read of God’s creation of the universe.  There was nothing outside of the godhead, God spoke, and with the power of His Word, He made all that has been made.  With His Word, He set everything in its proper place, ordering everything according to His design.  And with His Word, He commissioned the man and the woman He’d made, who were the crown of His creation, who were alone fashioned in His image, who alone possessed both body and spirit, to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion…over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Genesis 1:27-28).  

Having done all that, God looked down upon His creation and “saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31).

Then, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it” (Genesis 2:15).  

Everything was just as it ought to be; that is, until the next chapter, Genesis 3.  We’re not sure how long the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, were in the Garden before the serpent, overcome by the Evil One and “more crafty than any other beast of the field” (Genesis 3:1), crawled up to them and whispered his lies.  What we are sure of, however, is that when he did, it changed everything in dramatic and devastating fashion.  

Eve first, and then Adam soon after, in an attempt to be like God, succumbed to the serpent’s treachery and ate of the one tree in the Garden that God had withheld from them.  Having done so, they brought upon themselves and all their offspring the death of God (Genesis 2:16-17).  Their sinful choice made them at enmity with God, causing their spirits to die at once and their bodies to inevitably follow.  

Worse yet, in the interim (in the time between their spiritual and physical deaths), God put a curse on them and the land He’d made for them; one shared by all their offspring as well, all the way down to us today.  The woman was made to suffer in childbearing and feel opposition toward her husband, while the man’s work was made harder, less productive, and less efficient (3:15-19).  Mankind was corrupted and caused waves of corruption so spread throughout all the earth.  

To be left in this cursed state would be unimaginably devastating.  But God did not leave man without hope.  Right in the midst of His curse, God promised a Deliverer.  In condemning the deceiving serpent, the LORD God said, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15). 

God promised to one day send one of Eve’s sons to crush the Deceiver.  In that, through poetic language, God promised to rescue mankind from his fall and defeat his enemies (sin and corruption and disorder and death).  

The centuries that followed were filled with God continuing to provide mankind with every manner of mercy and grace.  God made promises to be present with and bless His people.  He gave His people human leaders to speak on His behalf and guide them (individuals like Abraham, Moses, and Joshua, as well as offices like judges, prophets, priests, and kings).  He gave them laws to flourish under.  He gave them prosperity when they trusted and obeyed Him.  He provided loving correction when they veered from the path of wisdom and blessing.  He miraculously delivered them from slavery and exile.  He provided means of atoning for their sins and restoring the damage they caused.  He filled their lives with reminders of His perfect past faithfulness and of His perfect promises of grace still to come.  He gave them a land and an identity.  Most importantly, He gave them Himself.  

In spite God’s unwavering kindness and faithfulness, however, the centuries that followed were also filled every manner of mankind futilely attempting to find joy, meaning, and even rescue in things other than God.  In short, human history leading up to our passage was filled with mankind rejecting God and His offer of redemption (to greater and lesser degrees) as they awaited the Deliverer.  

Zooming in a bit, the 400 years immediately prior to the “those days” of Luke 1:39, were filled with silence from God.  In judgment, God did not speak to His people and they were left wondering if God’s promises had failed.  Would the promised Serpent Crusher, (Savior, Christ, Messiah) ever come?

Zooming further in brings us to Luke’s Gospel.  Helpfully, it opens with the straightforward explanation of His aim.

1:1-4 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, 2 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, 3 it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account … 4 that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.

Luke stated that he was joining some untold number of other people who had already written down a story, a story of things that had been accomplished among them, things that they were eyewitnesses and messengers of, and all of that so that whoever read his story might know for sure that it was true.  

The question is, of course: What story?  What was it that Luke and others found so important that they needed to write it down and share it?

Curiously, Luke doesn’t say right away.  He doesn’t say anything about the content of the story in his introduction and then jumps straight into a bit of background of his own.  He sets the beginning of his story “in the days of Herod, king of Judea”.  He also focuses in on an Israelite priest named Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth.  The three main points of Luke’s emphasis concerning this couple are their old age, their righteousness, and their childlessness (1:5-10).  

Specifically, Luke records a time in which Zacheriah was performing his priestly duties and an “angel of the Lord” appeared to him.  The angel announced that Elizabeth would bear a son, that they were to name him John, that he would be the source of much gladness on account of his greatness “before the Lord,” that he would be “filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb,” and that he would minister in the “power of Elijah,” bringing about revival, preparing a people for the Lord.  

And just as the angel promised, Luke wrote, Elizabeth soon conceived and gave thanks to God (1:11-25).  

We might wonder if that’s what Luke was talking about.  Is that the story he and others were taking care to tell?  It’s certainly remarkable in its own right, isn’t it? But even as we’re wondering that, Luke quickly moved right into another, even more amazing story.  

A short time later, God sent the same angel to a young woman named Mary.  The angel made the same promise to Mary as he made to Elizabeth—that she would “conceive … and bear a son.”  The angel also told Mary what He she was to name Him (Jesus) and that God had really big plans for Him (that “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.  And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David and he will reign…forever…”).  Just as Elizabeth’s conception was miraculous, so too would be Mary’s (Elizabeth because she was barren and past the age of conception and Mary because she was a virgin).  And all of this would take place, once again, in the power of the Holy Spirit (1:26-38).  

As we come to the “those days” of our passage, then, the heart of Luke’s story begins to take shape: God determined to miraculously bring about the birth of John so, that he would announce the miraculous birth of the Serpent Crusher, the Savior, the Christ, the Deliverer that God had long promised to send.  Soon, Mary would conceive by the Holy Spirit and the child in her womb, Jesus, would fulfill God’s promises.  Great promises had been made and the days of their fulfillment (“those days”) had finally come.

All of that brings us back to our passage with proper context.  Luke continued his story…

39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 

More broadly, “those days” refers to the time of the imminent fulfillment of God’s promises.  More specifically, it refers to the time the two women met, Elizabeth miraculously pregnant with the messenger and Mary miraculously pregnant with the Savior of the world.  Both broadly and specifically, therefore, “those days” represented no small thing.  Indeed, Grace, it is not an overstatement to say that all history had been working toward “those days.”  

So the question is put before us: How do we come to truly appreciate all that “those days” represents?  How do we receive and respond to this news as we ought?  And the answer, once again, is through the God-given mingling of the facts concerning the meeting, their significance, and the poetic utterances they produced.  

The facts, as we just saw, were that God had promised to send as Savior into the world ever since the fall of mankind and that the time had now come.  Embedded in the rest of our passage are more critical facts still.  Let me quickly name four.

The facts of the matter are that the events described in our passage were planned by God, given through entirely unexpected and miraculous means, and are received only as a gift from God.

The question before us, once again, then, is how we get these facts deep into our hearts and down into our bones?  How do these facts move from familiar facets of the Christmas story to the life-changing, life-shaping realities they truly are within us?  

Ultimately, as we just saw, that can only happen by the power of the Spirit as a gift from God.  But, as is often the case, the Spirit brings God’s gifts to God’s people through certain means.  And one of God’s common means of imparting that kind of grace to His people is through—believe it or not—poetry.  It really is a tool designed by God to take us further up and further in to the facts God gives.  It is a tool uniquely suited to reach places in our heart and mind that facts alone often can’t penetrate.  

The songs that we’ll examine in the coming weeks have more poetry than this passage, but it’s in this passage as well.  The beginning of v.41 represents this kind of heart-piercing, grace-infused mingling of fact and poetic utterance perfectly.  

41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb…  

This is further unpacked in Elizabeth’s explanation of what happened in v.44.

…when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.

These two women were well-aware of the things I shared in the way of background and facts.  They’d heard and believed them their whole lives.  What’s more, they were becoming increasingly aware of and shocked by the role they were playing in it all.  

How do you process something like that?  How do you contain it?  All by itself, the news that the long-promised Christ is coming ought to be overwhelming.  How in the world, then, do you possibly make sense of the fact that He and His God-appointed way-preparer are in the wombs of you and your relative?!

Elizabeth had to resort to poetic imagery to express it.  The preparer “leapt” (bounded, jumped for joy) in his mom’s belly at the sound of the voice of one carrying the Son of God in her belly.  There’s no doubt that there is a literal truth to this account—that John really did move in Elizabeth’s womb.  But there’s also no doubt that Elizabeth’s response was fundamentally poetic—that it was as if John was dancing inside her.  

The result, with the Spirit’s help, was that Elizabeth couldn’t contain herself.  Therefore, she continued to cry out in more poetic language still.

41  … And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

Elizabeth exclaimed with a loud cry (a “redundancy of unrestrained joy” one commentator called it), “I am overwhelmed by all that is happening.  I knew it was special when my husband told me of the angel’s message to us.  I knew that even more fully when in my old age, I conceived according to the Lord’s promise.  But I’ve never known it as fully as I do now in the very presence of my Lord.”

And in the midst of recognizing the awesome blessing bestowed upon her (“why is this granted to me…”), Elizabeth also recognized the even greater blessing this was for Mary and Jesus (“blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!).  

Again, how do you describe this kind of thing?  Ordinary language just isn’t enough.  We, like Elizabeth, instinctively know that we need something different, something more.  And so, we end up with one womb containing a baby so filled with understanding and joy that it can’t help but to dance and another womb carrying happy fruit.  We end up with all women of earth gathered together and recognizing that Mary is the most blessed of them.  We end up with poetry.  And that poetry is meant to help snap us out of our numbness to the glory of these claims.  It’s meant to snap us into a fuller appreciation of what they are.  It’s meant to force us to take the good news all the way to its appropriate ends—whole-hearted devotion to the Son of God, born in the flesh (hail the incarnate Deity!).

Grace, in fulfillment of His millennia-old promise, God took on flesh in the womb of a virgin, dwelt among us, lived as a perfect example, died as a substitute sacrifice, and rose as the first born of many brothers.  And all of that to rescue us from our sins, reconcile us to God and others, and restore all that sin has broken in us and in creation.  To understand this is to sing.  And to hear the singing of others is one way God grants further understanding.  

Let us give ourselves, therefore to the facts of Christmas in increasing measure this year, Grace.  And let us add to it the best poetry and music as the God-appointed means they are for driving the facts all the way home.  

And with that, let’s pray for God to fill us with greater understanding of the truth, glory, and grace of Christmas.  Let’s pray that He’d fill us with a greater eagerness to share it with others.  And let’s pray that He’d combine those things to help us sing now with added hope and joy of He who came in yonder stall, thanking God that the long expected Jesus has come and will come again.

Ecclesiastes 7:1-4

1A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of birth.  2 It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart.  3 Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made glad.  4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

Well, this is finally it.  The last sermon in Ecclesiastes.  It seems like a significant understatement to say that God has used this book in my life over the past year.  I know many of you have experienced similar measures of God’s grace through our time in it as well.  

In simplest terms, I think the main way God has worked in me through Ecclesiastes is in giving me a renewed and significantly deepened appreciation for the nature of His work in this world.  I’ve long-believed that God is working good in all the mysteries of life, but Ecclesiastes has helped me grow significantly in my love for the mystery and trust in God’s plan for it.  

Another way He’s used this book to sanctify me is in kindling a renewed evangelistic burden and giving a more helpful way to engage in evangelism.  More specifically, I don’t know of a clearer example of what it looks/feels/is like to process life under the sun than Ecclesiastes.  It is the mindset of everyone apart from Christ.  Spending so much time in Ecclesiastes has given me perspective on and compassion for those who still think like that—who are trying to make sense of things and find joy in things apart from the ability to see many of the most important things.  

I’ve spent a good deal of time thinking and praying about how to capture as much of that as possible in a summary sermon.  As I did, two approaches kept coming to mind.  The first is a higher-level look at the two big gifts God gives through Ecclesiastes (honesty about life under the sun and a profound awareness of the need for something more).  And the second is a more down-to-earth example of how those things come together in real life.  

According to my calculations, each has certain advantages in capturing the kindness of God in and through Ecclesiastes.  But at the same time, each also seems to have certain disadvantages as well.  Consequently, I spent much of the past couple of weeks feeling torn between the two approaches as they rattled around in my head and prayers.  And then it dawned on me that I don’t have to pick.  I can give you both.  

With that, this sermon has two parts.  In part one, we’ll consider the two main gifts of Ecclesiastes by taking a quick look at the whole book.  And in part two, we’ll consider one particular passage in order to see the gifts combined and applied. In a sense, then, I’m going to give you two mini-sermons instead of one normal one. 

The main idea of it all is the main idea of Ecclesiastes: Living life as God intends means living by wisdom and faith.  Because life is under the sun, we need wisdom to know how the world ordinarily works and what it means to live in light of it.  And because life is also above the sun, we need faith in God’s promises to live the full lives God made us for.  The main takeaways are to God’s learn wisdom and live by it and learn God’s promises and live by them.   

The first mini-sermon—an overview of the whole book and the two main gifts within it. As we’ve seen, there’s a lot in Ecclesiastes.  It covers a lot of ground in a number of different ways.  It’s one of the most unique books in the entire Bible.  Some of its content is easy to understand and apply.  Much, however, is not.  

When all is said and done, two things rise to the top.  That is, once we’ve worked through it all, it seems to me that the key to Ecclesiastes is in recognizing the two main gifts God gives His people in it.  The first—which we’ll consider first—is the most honest look I’ve ever come across concerning the nature of life under the sun; that is, what it is really like to live in God’s world.  

So what is the world really like according to this ancient text?  In an attempt to answer that question, throughout this past week I spent a good deal of time drawing to mind the various aspects of the honesty of Ecclesiastes that stood out to me (and you).  And then I reread Ecclesiastes several times to the same end.  Having done so, there are five primary aspects of Ecclesiastes’ take on life under the sun that God most seemed to impress upon us.

As we briefly reconsider each of these, Grace, I urge you to take this wisdom and find ways to live more fully in light of it.  The world really is like this and taking these things into account is the only way to live as God intends.

All of this to help us understand what the world is really like so that we can live in the world as it truly is.  A failure to understand or apply the Preacher’s wisdom in these matters always makes life harder.  In this way, Ecclesiastes really is a call to get and live by wisdom it contains.  

However, as helpful as that is, that’s not the main gift of Ecclesiastes.  Despite having more wisdom and more power to live in light of it than anyone, the Preacher’s constant vexation is a reminder that we still need something more.  Under the sun wisdom is necessary, but never enough.  And that leads to the second gift of Ecclesiastes.

Vexation, confusion, and dissatisfaction drip off of nearly every paragraph in Ecclesiastes.  There is joy to be found in this world, the Preacher knew, but it is temporary and fleeting.  For the Preacher, as we saw, it is meant to drive us to fear God, keep His commandments, and find whatever joy God gives.  But with God’s help, it is really easy to see that this solution ultimately falls short.  And that’s the second gift of Ecclesiastes—one the Preacher gave without (seemingly) fully realizing it.

The second gift of Ecclesiastes is its power to drive our gaze upward.  It’s meant by God to show us the complete inadequacy of life under the sun to provide lasting joy, in order to stir our souls for something more.  Like the OT Law, it is meant to force us to look outside of ourselves and above the sun.  

In that way, truly heeding the under the sun wisdom of the Preacher—wisdom acquirable through ordinary means, through the use of our senses and reason—necessarily results in recognizing that there must be a different kind of wisdom, a fuller perspective, and something entirely different if we are to be satisfied.  God has made us with eternity in our hearts, which means having an innate understanding of the something-still-to-be-desiredness of the Preacher’s conclusions andan innate understanding that there really, truly is something more. 

The Preacher got very little of this, but he did get some.  He knew through God’s supernatural revelation that God is sovereign (3:14; 6:10; 7:13, 14; 9:1), that God makes everything (10:5), that God put eternity into our hearts (3:11), that God made mankind good (7:29), but all have fallen into sin (7:20, 29; 8:11; 9:3-6), that stuff and ability to enjoy stuff are two, separate gifts (2:24-25; 5:19; 6:1-5), that God judges everyone (3:17; 11:9; 12:14), that it will be well for those who fear God (8:12) but not for those who don’t (8:13), and that the whole duty of man is to fear God and keep his commandments (12:13).

That’s not a lot, but it is important stuff—all of which combined, conspires to get our eyes above the sun. 

All of that has made my soul sing over the past year.  It’s so obviously true.  It resonates deep in my bones.  Not to sound melodramatic, but it has been one of the most significant spiritual gifts God has given since my conversion.  I’ve always thought of C.S. Lewis as uniquely able to describe the things we’ve always experienced, but never known—like the taste of air.  Ecclesiastes has been that for me in the way of why life is as it is.  

And in all of that, we are made restless until we come to rest in Jesus.  Ecclesiastes, more than anything I’ve encountered in some time, has helped me know the unique necessity, supremacy, and sufficiency of Jesus by showing me the utter inadequacy of everything else.   Thanks be to God.

I mentioned at the beginning that I’ve felt torn between which of two approaches to take in summarizing Ecclesiastes.  That was the first—looking at all of Ecclesiastes in order to see the two big gifts God gives through it (honesty about life under the sun and a profound awareness of the need for something more).  Now, briefly, we’ll turn to the second—a more text-specific example of how those things come together in real life—much of the same stuff, but from a different angle.  

The second mini-sermon—a closer look at a particular passage (7:1-4) and the way it points to the two main gifts.

I saw the power of this approach in a funeral message I gave not long ago.  Honestly, I was somewhat surprised by how much it resonated with me (and, I think, those at the funeral).  It’s rooted in 7:1-4, but what I do with this passage—by God’s supernatural design—can be done with just about every other one.  By “what I do,” I mean taking a specific claim in Ecclesiastes and working it out to its natural conclusions.  Every time you do that, with the Lord’s help, you’ll end up amazed by the wisdom, wondering how you missed it initially, and eager to live more fully in light of it.  

Ecclesiastes 7:1-4 … the day of death than the day of birth.  2 It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart.  3 Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made glad.  4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

Like many passages in Ecclesiastes, the meaning of this passage might not be immediately obvious.  In fact, it probably not only seems a bit confusing, but also exactly the opposite of what we’d expect.    

“The day of death is better than the day of birth.”  No one really thinks that, do they?

“It is better to go into the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting.”  How could that be the case?

“Sorrow is better than laughter.”  Why is that?

“The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.”  What kind of wisdom would lead someone to conclude this?

To understand what the author of Ecclesiastes is getting at, to be amazed by it, and to get out of it all that God means us to, we need to wrestle with these questions until they yield.  And to do that here, we need to remember who the Preacher is and what he did.  

He was a king in Jerusalem.  He had an unimaginable amount of money and tremendous wisdom to go with it.  And the key to the whole book is that God directed him to use all of his power, money, and wisdom to try to make sense of the world and to find lasting joy in it.  

With that, the Preacher set about trying to find meaning and lasting pleasure in all kinds of things familiar to us.

2:1-11 I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself.” … 3 I searched with my heart how to cheer my body with wine… 4 I made great works. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. 5 I made myself gardens and parks, and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees. 6 I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees. 7 I bought male and female slaves … I had also great possessions of herds and flocks, more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem. 8 I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I got singers, both men and women, and many concubines, the delight of the sons of man. 

10 … And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them …

He used all his power, money, and wisdom to get whatever he wanted, hoping to find lasting satisfaction in those things.  Pleasure, wine, houses, vineyards, gardens, parks, fruit, pools, servants, great possessions, all kinds of animals, silver, gold, and other treasures, entertainment, and endless companions.  And insodoing, by God’s design, he forces us to recognize this same pursuit in ourselves—albeit to a lesser degree.   

The Preacher got all and more of what so many of us are trying to find happiness in.  If we hadn’t spent the past year in Ecclesiastes, you might be surprised by what he found once he got it all.

 11 Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun. 

He found that nothing on earth could satisfy him.  To say it another way, he found that all of everything still wasn’t enough to satisfy him for more than a short while or to provide any real sense of purpose.

He wasn’t quick to give up though.  He tried something else.  He wanted to see if people who were wise faired any better than those who were foolish, if those who studies a lot had better lives than those who didn’t, so he paid careful attention to everyone around him.

His conclusion: There’s a little bit to gain from wisdom, but “the same event happens to all of them. 15 Then I said in my heart, ‘What happens to the fool will happen to me also. Why then have I been so very wise’” (2:14-15)?

The Preacher didn’t find what he was looking for in pleasure or wisdom.  

Still not willing to give up, he threw himself into his work.  He wondered if there was lasting satisfaction to be found in his job—accomplishments and promotions and recognition and raises.  The result was, once again, very much the same, “I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me, 19 and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool” (2:18-19)?

True joy and meaning weren’t in pleasure, wisdom, or career. 

Still not done, the Preacher considered the idea that the meaning of things and lasting joy might not be found in his own individual pursuits, but in being part of a larger society.  But the closer he looked, the worse it got.  

3:16 … I saw … that in the place of justice, even there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness.

And

4:1 I saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun. And behold, the tears of the oppressed, and they had no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power, and there was no one to comfort them.

In courtrooms and churches, places that should have been marked by justice and goodness, there was wickedness.  And where people ought to have been fighting for those being mistreated, he found that they were left alone in their oppression.  Government and institutional religion couldn’t satisfy him either.

The Preacher saw that there was no discernable meaning or lasting satisfaction in wine, building, planting, playing, harvesting, acquiring, money, entertainment, or sex.  Neither were they found in wisdom, work, or the institutions of men.

After all of that, the Preacher was left with just one more area to explore.  What about righteousness, he wondered?  Those who are good must be better off than those who are evil, right?  They must be happier and they must have greater purpose.  That’s what God wants, after all, isn’t it?  

In other words, the Preacher wondered if there is meaning and happiness in being a good person.  What he found is, for those unfamiliar with Ecclesiastes, often surprising as well.  

7:15In my vain life I have seen everything. There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evildoing.

What’s more, he wrote, “Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins” (7:20).

The Preacher found that there really isn’t anyone who is truly good and on top of that, people who are more good often die early and people who are more bad often live longer because of the evil things they do.  

The Preacher looked and looked and looked for meaning and satisfaction on earth.  He looked under every rock and behind every tree, but he could not find true meaning or lasting satisfaction anywhere.  And so he concluded…

9:2-3It is the same for all, since the same event [death] happens to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As the good one is, so is the sinner, and he who swears is as he who shuns an oath. 3 This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all… and after that they go to the dead.

In the end, his conclusions were that life “under the sun” is filled with hardships, lasting joy is impossible to find, meaning is elusive, everything is wrapped in mystery, and then, no matter what you do, you die.  

All of that makes us wonder how to make sense of all of this.  Is this all there is; you live and die and do your best in-between but with no real gain?  Is there any real meaning in any of it?  Is there any hope for after it?

And all of that brings us back to the Scripture passage, now able to answer the questions we asked.  

Death and funerals and sorrow and mourning are better than birth and parties and laughter because they open us up in ways that times of worldly comfort and ease never can to the reality that if there is meaning, hope, joy, and significance to be found, it must be found somewhere else.  Times of hardship provide for us, by God’s design, a unique chance to be honest with ourselves (about our fears and emptiness and need for God’s help) and open to things that matter.  Suffering and death reveal to us what we already know, but work really hard to ignore: that we need something outside of ourselves and even outside of this world if we are ever going to be made whole.  

And in one of the more dramatic ways I’ve ever experienced, I saw that at the funeral.  I know that I can’t perfectly read people’s hearts and minds, but in a truly noticeable and unusual way, from what I could tell, the people at the funeral were listening to these ideas exactly as the Preacher described.  It seemed clear that being in a house of mourning really did crack open the blinds to things above the sun for them.  They could see that their earthly pursuits were ultimately empty, that there was something more, that there is a God who is near and will judge.  And that opportunity is worth a thousand hollow laughters and well-cooked steaks and silly jokes and Amazon deals and secular relationships.  

And then, just like that, like a puff of smoke, it was gone.  The service ended, a meal began, and the window closed—back to being distracted and blinded by the things of earth.  

Again, Ecclesiastes 7:1-4 doesn’t give us the full answer to the meaning of life, but it does show us where to look to find it.  It is a blind-parter.  It gives truths that open up cracks, making above the sun realities visible if we’ll look through them.  And in those few verses, we find one of the many ways Ecclesiastes points us to our need for Jesus and His unique ability to provide for us what we usually seek in everything but Him.   

Many years after the Preacher wrote Ecclesiastes, one of his distant relatives wrote another letter.  In it, he spoke of trying to find meaning and hope and joy in many of the same things the Preacher did and finding them equally hollow.  But unlike the Preacher, this man, the Apostle Paul, did find what he was looking for.

Philippians 3:7-11  But whatever gain I had [all the things the Preacher had], I counted as loss [he too found them entirely lacking] for the sake of [Jesus] Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord [Paul found in Jesus what neither he nor the Preacher could find in anything else]. 

For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, [he gave up all of the money and prestige and power and worldly wisdom that he once held onto so tightly, because he recognized that they were like trash compared to Jesus…and here’s the key…],  

not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law [from perfectly obeying God’s commands], but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection…

After trying most of the same things the Preacher did and finding them lacking just as the Preacher had, Paul found true hope and joy and meaning in Jesus.  Even more, he found salvation from his sins and everlasting life in Jesus who continues to offer Himself and all of those things in Him to all who will receive Him in faith.  Again, that’s what Ecclesiastes is ultimately given to us by God to do—to drive us to Jesus, the one place that our greatest longings—true meaning, purpose, joy, and reconciliation with God—can be found.  

May we continue to learn from Ecclesiastes and turn to Jesus, therefore, Grace Church.  May we learn and live in light of all of its under the sun wisdom and may that drive us to faith in the above the sun promises of God in Jesus.  

James 1:19-27

19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. 27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

I want to begin my exposition of this passage by sharing two anecdotes that I think setup the points I want to draw out to you today about this text, true religion, and orphan care. Over the years, I’ve had opportunities with many churches to share about Eagles Wings Children’s Village. A response I’ve heard from several churches is that while orphan care is a good thing, they wish to focus their resources on the gospel. This suggests a concept that the gospel is somehow disconnected entirely from the church’s compassionate response to the needs people have. They may say “that’s nice” but it is not as important as preaching the gospel. On the extreme other side of the spectrum, in my first experience living in Uganda, I met an American man who was in the process of adopting a boy from Uganda. Some years later, I happened to run into the man again in Uganda and he told me that he had written a book about adopting his son which he had titled, “The Gospel Sits At My Breakfast Table.” That description and philosophy would imply that the work of adoption is the gospel itself. But we know that the work of adoption neither saves the parent nor the orphan from their sin, nor even addresses the spiritual need of all people God explains in the gospel. We see there’s imbalance to both these sides, and I want to explain this passage to show you why God says genuine religion is demonstrated in ministering to orphans and widows in their affliction, and a life that is unstained by the world. 

Though this passage is incredibly well-known and used in regard to the church’s call to orphan care, that’s really not what James is directly exhorting us about. The context is setup in V26 where James warns us of an empty profession of religion, which flows from V22 where James warns us to be “doers of the Word and not hearers only.” Martin Luther once described James as “an epistle of straw.” I’m sure Luther’s hesitations about the letter of James were due to the battle Luther fought over the correct doctrine of a believer’s justification through faith in the work of Christ alone for salvation. But a correct reading of James will show that while Paul’s treatise on salvation in Romans makes abundantly clear God’s method of salvation, James’ elaboration clearly defines the results of genuine salvation. 

James uses a word for worship or religion that is only used in the NT in this passage, and then once by Paul in Colossians 2:18, when Paul is describing the doctrines of false teachers, and again by Paul in Acts 26 where he was describing his life in the Jewish religious system. It has to do with ceremonial piety or worship. There is the form or appearance of belief, but James explains what betrays the external form is not an internal reality. He says that if I don’t have control of my tongue, I’m deceiving myself, and my external form of religion is worthless. No passage in scripture gives a more vivid description of disproving false professions of faith than what James writes in the following chapter – James 2 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. In other words, if what we claim to believe doesn’t produce action in us, how can we say we really believe it? Rather than our actions proving we do believe, they are the very evidence that prove we don’t. That’s the context of V27 where James says “pure and undefiled religion before God is visiting orphans and widows in their affliction.” 

So, I next want to ask, what is it about orphan and widow care (along with spiritual purity) that define true religion, and how does that inform the church about why orphan care is an assumed concern for the church? 

What is the source of our understanding of our responsibility towards an orphan? We know that God makes especial mention of provision and concern for orphans. There are over 40 references to orphans in the OT, and many of them include God demonstrating concern for how people should relate to them. For example – 

Exodus 22 22 You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. 23 If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry, 24 and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.

Proverbs 23:10-11 Do not move an ancient landmark or enter the fields of the fatherless, for their Redeemer is strong; he will plead their cause against you. 

We can see God cares for the orphan, but we must still ask “why” if we are to get to the foundation of why I say it is assumed that we will care for the orphan. God tells us this of himself in scripture – 1 John 4:8 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. This leads us to a further question – what is love? 1 John 3 16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? True love is the essential ethic that informs all genuine Christian practice. The Bible tells us “Let all that you do be done in love.” Paul wrote to Timothy in 1 Timothy 1:5 The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Love is selfless. Love is others-oriented. God says this is how we, his people, can understand love, that Christ Jesus our Lord laid down his life for us, and then he adds, “and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.” That is the foundation not only of why we should care for orphans, but why we MUST care for orphans. For how can we say that the love of Christ has been shed abroad in our hearts when it doesn’t overflow into a pouring out of ourselves on behalf of others just as our Lord demonstrated in his love for us? God’s description of the purpose of the Christian life centers around this transformation. He says in 2 Corinthians 5:15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. God says the purpose of our salvation was so that we would go from selfishness to selflessness – from considering ourselves first, to considering Christ first. Jesus said in John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. Why is this the greatest demonstration of love? Because what personal benefit can an individual derive from the sacrifice of his own life? He will no longer be alive to reap any benefit. Therefore, it is the greatest demonstration of what love truly is. Love gives itself on behalf of others. We see then how fitting a description orphan and widow care are as definitions of true religion. These are people who can’t make a return to you for your assistance. You are not going to benefit from your service. Therefore, it is an example of God’s true love. What I claim to possess has taken over me to the point of giving myself away in true sacrifice. 

The only correct response to truth received is truth applied. There are those of us who can well pass the “faith exam” if that exam were only a written test. But the Bible’s faith exam is not a theoretical, chalkboard exam. It’s a practical one in the laboratory of real life. The scribe who was able to accurately tell the 3 kings where Messiah would be born showed he had the written knowledge, but betrayed his bankruptcy of faith when he didn’t go himself to see “he who was born King of the Jews.” I hope I have made this point clear to you and you are examining your heart according to this litmus test God gives us. But here, we must turn our attention to James’ last phrase in V27. I have met some people who can quote the first part of V27 about orphan care, but can’t finish the verse – and to keep oneself unstained from the world. The word translated unstained in the ESV is the Greek ἄσπιλος (aspilos). It is used 4 times in the NT and each time it is conveying the idea of perfect obedience. For example, in 1 Timothy 6:14 to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. The idea is that our obedience is completely uncompromised. Without this foundation, the ”sacrifice” of orphan care, or any other sacrificial ministry, is actually corrupted before God and unacceptable to him. Let me give you a couple of statements from Jesus to explain what I mean – 

Luke 6:46 Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? And perhaps the scariest passage in scripture – Matthew 7 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ How can what we would describe as good works be described as works of “lawlessness” by Jesus? It is because everything that doesn’t proceed from the obedience of faith is sin. There are many people who do things under the misconception of earning God’s favor, or even of making up for areas in life where they are disobedient. Some of them like to point to the legalist who fails to even lift with his finger the heavy burdens he ties on others as proof that their version of religion is acceptable to God. After all, does God care more about my impurities and failures in some areas, or that I’m generous and kind towards others? James makes clear that one of these is not acceptable to God without the other. True submissive obedience will lead to the right sacrifices of love, and sacrifices of love without true obedience are not given in true love and are, therefore, unacceptable to God. Let me illustrate that to you like this. If you ask a Muslim how he can go to heaven, he will tell you he must observe the 5 pillars of the faith. One of these pillars include giving to the poor. Now, if I believe that I won’t go to heaven unless I give to the poor, who am I actually concerned about when I give to the poor? Am I showing I love the poor person, that I love God, or that I love myself? This undermines every manmade religion, which all invariably rely on a covenant between God and man dependent on what man does. If I must do good to go to heaven, I am ultimately doing good for myself. If I’m ultimately doing good for myself, am I really doing it selflessly or selfishly? The gospel is the only covenant where love between God and mankind is actually possible. We love him because he first loved us. And this qualitative demand of obedience for true acts of love is defined by Jesus this way – John 14:15 If you love me, you will keep my commandments. Many people have asked me over the years about Muslims and others who seem to have a zeal for God but are deceived about what pleases God. Many have asked me; won’t God accept their worship? The question is, who are they truly worshipping if they fail to submit to what pleases God? The Bible answers the question like this in Romans 10:2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. If you have not submitted to approaching God as he demands, even when you adopt an orphan, you are seeking to establish your own way. Ultimately, you are setting up your own god. Your sacrifice is empty. Keith Green wrote about God like this in one song – 

“I desire obedience, not sacrifice.
I don’t want your money; I want your life”

How can we say we really love God if we don’t obey his commands? And how can we say we really possess the love of God if when God presents us with a person in need, we have no compassion that moves us to action? Is that true religion? Is that the power of this gospel we affirm? What do my actions tell me about my professed faith? 

Ecclesiastes 12:9-14
9 Besides being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs with great care. 10 The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth. 

11 The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd. 12 My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh. 

13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.

Well, here we have it, the final words of Ecclesiastes.  As I mentioned last week, the Preacher’s words probably ended with 12:7.  Vs.8-the end are likely the words of the man who complied the writings/sayings of the Preacher.  They contain his God-ordained summation of the Preacher’s teaching, preaching, and publishing ministry.  

Interestingly, but consistently with the idea that the whole thing was written in the voice of King Solomon, in vs.9-10 the narrator lets us know that in (and probably beyond) the under the sun wisdom communicated in Ecclesiastes, the Preacher taught knowledge.  He wasn’t merely a wise person who kept his wisdom to himself, he determined to share it with others.  

How did he come upon that wisdom?  As far as it depended on him, he did so through great care and hard work.  He did extensive research and experimentation.  He studied what he found thoroughly.  And compiled his findings and conclusions systematically.  He wasn’t sloppy or lazy.  He understood that this is God’s world and it matters how we live in it, both for ourselves and for God.  Therefore, he gave himself to understanding as much of it as he could.  

What’s more, the Preacher, we’re told, not only sought to discover and commend wisdom and knowledge, but he purposefully aimed to do so with integrity and an engaging eloquence.  He was honest and winsome.

In many ways, all of that is the goal of every good preacher and teacher.  I certainly aspire to teach truths about God’s Word and world after carefully studying them, to record my teaching for ongoing edification and scrutiny, and to do all of that with integrity, eloquence, and out of a desire to see you all filled with joy.  

In these final verses (11-14), the narrator shares his thoughts on the Preacher’s thoughts on wisdom’s nature, origin, protection, and end (getting us above the sun in a significant way with this last one).  From those things, we’ll see the big idea of this passage: The whole duty of man is to walk in wisdom.  Doing so means fearing and obeying God in light of the certain judgment of God.  The main takeaway, then, is to learn to walk in the fullness of wisdom with God’s help.  

Before I pray, just to give you a heads up…Next week is Orphan Sunday (no Ecclesiastes) and then the following week I’ll give one final, summary sermon on Ecclesiastes before we begin an advent series on the songs of Luke.   

Once again, vs.11-14 contain the narrator’s thoughts on the Preacher’s thoughts on wisdom’s nature, origin, protection, and end. 

To begin, then, what does he say about the nature of wisdom?  As we’ve seen, wisdom has limits, wisdom can’t predict results with 100% certainty, and there is a profound difference between under and above the sun wisdom.  But as we’ve also seen, it’s impossible to live well without the kind of wisdom mentioned throughout Ecclesiastes.  

Stated more positively, God designed the world to work in certain ways and we simply cannot thrive when are unaware of it or go against it.  That’s the heart of wisdom’s nature in v.11.   

11 The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings…

To explain certain aspects of wisdom’s nature as well as the futility of trying to live contrary to it, we’re given two images in this verse: Goads and nails.

Of goads, the ESV Study Bible says this: “Goads were long, sharpened sticks used to prod oxen when they were hitched to yokes. Not wanting to be jabbed again with the stick, the ox would kick against it. It would soon learn that it was better to accept the direction of the farmer than to ‘kick against the goad.’”

This is similar to the idea of “banging your head against the wall.”  Nothing is gained.  The goads and the wall always win.  The basic lesson is that it hurts far more to go against wisdom than it does to conform to it.  

You might not like the idea of gravity.  You might even genuinely and passionately disagree that there is such a thing as gravity.  But every time you jump off of your roof, reality holds.  

I remember gravity causing a log splitter to accelerate towards my thumb at -9.8m/s/s—a hundred pounds of steel barreling down towards a hundred pounds of steel with my thumb in between.  In the split second before the smash, wisdom flooded into me and I thought, “this steel doesn’t care about me at all.”

There are so many examples of this happening today that it’s fairly mind-blowing.  I imagine that things were very similar when the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 1 of mankind’s conscious and intentional suppression of the truth.  

Any effort to get around the world as God made it is to kick against the goads; it is to bang your head against the wall.  It is unwisdom.  Like gravity, no degree of difficulty or sincerity can change that.  

In that kind of way, Ecclesiastes is a constant prodding toward wisdom.  We can, of course, ignore the Preacher’s prodding, but it will always be to our pain.  We can live as if there is lasting pleasure to be found in the things of this earth, but if we do, we will always be left disappointed and wanting.  Likewise, we can go against wisdom and live as if our health will hold forever or as if we won’t die eventually, but if we do, that folly will inevitably catch up to us in especially painful ways.  

Again, the nature of the wisdom of Ecclesiastes (and wisdom in general) is such that it continually goads us toward properly ordered lives and away from the unnecessary hardships of living foolishly.  

The other image, “nails firmly fixed,” points to the other aspect of wisdom’s nature highlighted in this passage.  Like nails holding two boards together, once wisdom is grasped, it usually holds.  Once you see it, you can’t unsee it.  Once you’ve felt its effect, you can’t unfeel it.  

In speaking of the recent NYC mayoral election results, World News commentators pointed out that with very little variation, those under 40 voted for the socialist candidate and those over 40 did not.  The reason, they suggested, was that those over 40 were more likely to have experienced the painful failure of socialism around the world.

Similarly, it is often those who have fought in war that are the least likely to advocate for another war.  They know that the cost almost always significantly outweighs the benefit.

Those who have fallen through thin ice will almost certainly avoid walking on it ever again.  

Sunscreen and flossing make a lot more sense once you’ve dealt with skin cancer and rotten teeth.  

And more to the point of Ecclesiastes, the wisdom that comes from having experienced enough failed promises of the things of this earth, of vocation, of worldly philosophies, of wealth, of honor, of novelty, of human justice, of friendships, of sex, of health and even of life itself, tends to stick.

Wisdom gained is like that.  It’s in its God-given nature.  When something about the way things truly are resonates in us (which is the essence of wisdom), the reverberations hold fast like two boards firmly fixed by nails.  In a very real way, that kind of wisdom gets nailed to our heart.

And in that way, Ecclesiastes helps us to see that the nature of wisdom is that it is increasingly binding.  It may be hard won, but it is also hard-lost.  It may be difficult to come by, but it is also difficult to break from.  And the more wisdom we gain (“the collected sayings”), the more this is the case.  

The nature of wisdom is such that it prods us toward wisdom and holds us to wisdom.  Seek it, therefore, Grace.  With God’s help, learn to walk in the fullness of wisdom.  

The second aspect of wisdom addressed in our passage, the second summary of the Preacher’s teaching on wisdom, concerns its origin.  We just saw a bit about what wisdom is.  Now we’ll consider where it came from.  Look at the end of v.11.

11 The words of the wise … they are given by one Shepherd. 

As is often the case in Ecclesiastes, which is also often the case in all poetry, we cannot be certain of the exact meaning of this clause (“one Shepherd”).  However, although we’re lacking absolute certainty, it is exceedingly likely that the narrator was speaking of God as the “one Shepherd” (which is indicated by the ESV translating it with a capital “S”).  

In that way, all wisdom is given by God.  Grace, let me say that again: All wisdom is given by God.  If it is not given by God, it is not wisdom.  

This is true of all under the sun wisdom since the sun and everything under it were made by God.  He created all that has been created.  He designed it.  He knows it and how it works perfectly.    

Wherever we can grasp things as they truly are in the world around us, then, we are merely grasping that aspect of the mind of God by using the instruments given to us by God (our eyes, ears, and minds).  That’s a remarkable realization, isn’t it?  It means that when we grasp math concepts, or bug hatch patterns, or the earth’s rotation, or the differences in the way men and women tend to think, we are gaining wisdom from God.

While the Preacher’s wisdom was largely relegated to the under the sun variety, this is also true of above the sun wisdom as well.  

It is a wonderful, mysterious, poetic aspect of the nature of Ecclesiastes that the Preacher shared under the sun wisdom given to him by God, as a part of the above the sun wisdom of God (which he didn’t really seem to grasp).  In other words, in sharing the wisdom God gave him regarding the way the world ordinarily works, the Preacher was contributing to the wisdom God gave concerning His plan to save the world from our sin and restore all that sin had broken.  

In that way, yet again, there is more in Ecclesiastes than its first authors understood.  The words of the wise are indeed given by God; not merely the under the sun, proverbial words complied by the Preacher, but the entire cannon of Scripture.

When we combine this with what we saw in vs.9-10 (that the Preacher’s wisdom came largely through careful, disciplined observation, study, and work), we are reminded of an important truth concerning how God ordinarily works.  He uses our faithful effort to accomplish His purposes.  Ecclesiastes is the Word by God, but it was formed both by the guiding work of the Spirit and the conscious choices and discipline of the Preacher.  

May we learn to function in the world with this mindset.  May we work hard at the things God has given us—whether school work, babysitting, house-building, code-writing, teaching, etc.  May we do so with care, prayer, and excellence.  And may we trust that God is working in all of it to bear the good fruit He intends to come from it.

Again, then, under the sun wisdom is available to all who will, like the Preacher, observe, think about, and study God’s creation with care.  But above the sun wisdom comes from God’s revelation alone and can be understood by God’s Spirit alone.  It cannot be found out through any ordinary means.  

Wisdom’s nature is goading and binding.  Wisdom’s origin is God.  

The third aspect of wisdom revealed in this passage is its protection.  The simplest way I know how to state the point is this: Since wisdom is the ability to live in this world as it truly is, living with anything “more” or less than wisdom is always dangerous.  And in that way, wisdom protects us from the pains of folly.  That’s the heart of v.12.

12 My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.

I’d like to share three observations from this verse.  

It is not an accident or a mere cultural expression that v.12 opens with the words, “My son.”  Parents in general, but especially fathers, must be earnest in passing on wisdom and warning of folly.  

In fact, and please don’t miss this, because all wisdom is from God the Father, giving wisdom is an inseparable aspect of human fatherhood.  It is part of the definition of fatherhood.  And in that way, fathers can’t not pass on their understanding of what it means to live in this world as it really is.  Of course, fathers can be right or wrong about their understanding, but they can’t help from passing it on, whatever it is.  

Fathers of Grace, do not take this lightly.  And if you have, repent now.  God’s grace in Christ is sufficient to forgive you all your sins and restore all that they have damaged.  You can have a fresh vertical start right now, so that you can begin working on the horizontal implications in hope.  

With that, settle on the fact that you are passing on your version of wisdom, so: (1) Make sure it is wisdom given by the one Shepherd (and not by anyone or anything else), and (2) Intentionally share it with your kids in both what you say and how you live.  

To accomplish (1), making sure your wisdom is from God, you need to be thoughtful men as you go about life.  You need to learn to think observe, study, and reason carefully.  You need to pay attention to the world around you.  The Preacher is a great example of this.  Consider again vs.9-10 and do likewise.  

Even more importantly, accomplishing (1) means being men of the Word.  Read your Bibles every day.  Memorize Scripture.  Get the good tools you need (good study Bible, a good book on reading the Bible as you ought, etc).  Put yourself under the elders God has given to help you with this.  Come to Berea.  Listen carefully to the sermons and ask good questions of them.  Continually ask the Spirit to give you insight.  

And to accomplish (2), passing it on in word and deed, you need to surround yourself with wise men and women who you will eagerly allow to teach you and hold you accountable.  Become a member of Grace Church.  Offer yourself up for correction to those in your DG.  Ask God and His people to continually reveal your folly.

And then, take all of that and share it freely with your kids.  Make sure you help them understand why you do (and don’t do) what you do, day in and day out.  And make sure you have consistent times of formal instruction with your kids.  Find the balance between using your wisdom to keep them from the consequences of their folly and allowing them to experience its pain.  

The first observation on v.12 is that fathers are given to give wisdom.  

The second observation ought to flow pretty straightforwardly out of what we saw concerning wisdom’s origin.  It is the fact that all wisdom is ancient.  Indeed, it is, as the Preacher observed, an acknowledgement that “there is nothing new under the sun” (1:9).  Ultimately, wisdom is as ancient as God Himself because all wisdom is rooted in His eternal nature.  

The sooner we can settle on this, the better all things will go for us, Grace.

The third observation I’d like to make from this verse is that it is because all wisdom is from God that we’re warned to “Beware of anything beyond these”—beyond the wisdom given by the one Shepherd.  That is, since there is no wisdom outside of God, going beyond that which God has given us is always dangerous. 

At best, “new wisdom” is simply a new way to describe old wisdom or a way to apply old wisdom to a new situation.  This can be a good thing, but we need to beware of failing to recognize that it is still from God.  

And at worst, “new wisdom” is a rejection of God as the giver of wisdom.  Nearly my entire time in college was spent seeking this kind of “new wisdom.”  The whole point of modern political philosophy is an attempt to rethink everything in light of the fact that “God is dead.”  It is a conscious rejection of God as wisdom’s giver.  And, of course, in this way we need to beware of going “beyond these” in that this kind of “beyond” is straight off a cliff.

Even in the Preacher’s day, thousands of years ago, there was a virtual ocean of non-wisdom posing as wisdom.  Therefore, the warning is made even more specific.  Where are we most vulnerable to going beyond the wisdom of God?  In books and study.  

12 … Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh. 

I remember walking into Wilson library at the UM one day and being absolutely humbled by the knowledge that if I read non-stop for years, at most, I’d be able to read all the books on one of their shelves—one shelf of a dozen shelves in a row, out of dozens of rows, out of several floors of rows, out of one of many libraries on campus, out of countless libraries around the world.  And in all those vast volumes, everything worth reading, is simply a restatement of the ancient wisdom of God.  

As we saw earlier, this is not to say that we don’t study God’s world.  But it is to say that we must always do so in light of His Word and in the humility and caution that comes from the knowledge that all wisdom is from God.  

When fathers give themselves to passing on God’s wisdom, when we settle on the fact that all wisdom is ancient, and when we’re properly cautious of “new wisdom,” then we’ll find the protection God means us to have in wisdom.

We’ve seen wisdom’s nature (it prods us toward wisdom and holds us to wisdom), it’s origin (from the one Shepherd, God Himself), and its protection (a warning against new claims).  Finally, then, in the end, we see its end—its aim, its goal, its purpose.  

The final verses of this book are among the clearest of the above the sun passages in all of Ecclesiastes.  Much of the book, as we’ve seen, contains under the sun wisdom.  The wisdom of 12:13-14, however, cannot be discerned by ordinary means.  It cannot be observed in nature.  It requires a special revelation from God.  What is that wisdom?

The narrator of Ecclesiastes introduces it by revealing the simple fact that the Preacher had rested his case.  He was done offering witnesses and evidence.  Having come to “The end of the matter;” he declared that, “all has been heard.”  And, therefore, he was ready to render his final verdict.  

Having considered it all, having studied carefully, having tested all matters, having seen and tried it all, having felt the profound the mystery of life, what are we to make of the Preacher’s observations and conclusions?  Taking all of the first 220 verses of Ecclesiastes into account, what do the last two verses tell us about mankind and our place and purpose in God’s world?

13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.

In short, they tell us that three things rise to the surface.  Living in this world in wisdom means living continually in light of judgment, fear, and obedience.  

The two “for”s (one in the middle of v.13 and one at the beginning of v.14) tell us that it is good to work backward through these verses.  Each one grounds the previous claim.  Fear God and keep His commandments “for” (because) that is the whole duty of man.  And it is the whole duty of man “for” (because) God will bring everything into judgment.  

Working backwards, then, we begin with God’s judgment.  

There are just wo things I think we need to hear about it.  First, it is total.  It will come to everyone for everything.  Grace, the end of the matter is this: Every single thing you’ve ever said/not said, thought/not thought, felt/not felt, loved/not loved, done/not done will be judged by God and determined to be either good or evil.  No one and nothing will escape that judgment.  

“God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.”

The second thing we need to hear is that God’s standard of judgment is His holy name.  We’ll come to that in the next point (fear), but for now let me simply say this: As a young man, before I became a Christian, I really did know (although I’m not sure how) that God would judge me.  But the problem I had (without knowing it) was that I thought God’s standard of judgment was other people.  I knew I was a jerk in a lot of ways, but I also knew that I wasn’t Hitler or Stalin.  Those men were evil.  I was basically a good person in my mind.  

For that reason, because I was comparing myself to others rather than the Holy God, I did not fear the coming judgment.  I assumed I would be judged among the good.   

If you are going to live in wisdom, if you are going to live in this world as it truly is, you must begin with the idea that all you do in life will be placed before God and judged by God.  Judgment is coming and it is impossible to live a life of rationality and reason in this life without a continual consciousness of that.

The second key of Ecclesiastes is the first aspect of mankind’s purpose on earth.  The whole “duty of man” (literally, “the whole of man”) begins with the fear of God.  This is not unique to Ecclesiastes.  More than 300 times this idea echoes throughout the Bible.

We saw this idea back in chapter 8.  There, the Preacher helps us to see that the fear of the Lord means: (1) Standing in awe of His absolute power, majesty, and splendor (1 Chronicles 29:11-13), and (2) falling down in terror at His fierce and holy wrath (Psalm 68:1-2).  

It means recognizing that God is God, perfect and holy, majestic and just, all knowing and all powerful.  Compared to Him, we all fall short of His glory.  And with eyes to see, we know that we are ruined.

This kind of fear of God was entirely missing from my tragically naïve consideration of God’s coming judgment.  

Finally, then, the second aspect of the whole duty of man is obedience to God—to know and do all that He requires.  To live entirely in light of his wisdom.  To neglect none of it and to fully do all of it with the right heart and for the right reasons.  

With that, much comes into focus.  If judgment at the hand of a holy God looms for us all and if His standard for judgment is perfect obedience to all His commands, then my youthful folly becomes even more clear and the certainty of God’s judgment (rightly) becomes more terrifying.  

Unless…

Grace, the mystery revealed in the NT is that God’s chief command to all the world is to trust in Jesus.  To live in this world as it truly is, to have wisdom, will always lead us to recognize our need for a Savior and our inability to provide one for ourselves.  Therefore, the whole of Ecclesiastes, the whole of man, and true wisdom always points us to Jesus.  

1 John 4:14-18 … the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 

13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.

Our whole duty is to consider the just judgment of God, that we might fear God, that we might obey God, by turning to Jesus in faith and therein being freed from judgment according to the love of God, and then we may walk entirely in light of the wisdom of God, for the glory of God, the good of the world, and our highest joy.